About MiSHE …
HISTORY 1979-1998
Established in November 1978, the concept of
a state wide Hospital Engineering Society was little more than a dream in the
minds of a dedicated few industry professionals. The very first organizational
meeting held at Michigan Hospital Association Headquarters November 2, 1978,
brought together 14 members of the four districts with the purpose of electing
two members from each district to serve on a bylaws committee with David Watson
elected as chairman. The committee completed and submitted the finished product
to each of the District Societies for final approval on January 31, 1979. By
April 6, 1979 each of the Districts had approved the bylaws and elected two
representatives to serve as the first MISHE Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors consisted of Trustees
Barnard Disstelrath, Karl, Muehlfeld,
Gene Roelofs, Ed Schneider, Ira Spieker
and Michigan Hospital Association Codes and Standards Department Liaison Allen
Schoolcraft and the executive officers, David Watson President, Bill Parcells President Elect, Roy Agle Secretary/Treasurer. This group gave meaning to the
organization by establishing the main objectives of the society as providing
for better patient care through improved engineering practices. To meet this
objective the Board chose to establish the following standing committees:
Codes and Standards: This committee has contributed significantly to the
development, updating, and rewriting of construction, fire, health, and safety
codes, both on the state and national level. A great deal of credit for these
accomplishments goes to Elliott Guttman, the
continuous chairman of this committee through 1990. He was followed by Roy Agle 1991-1994, and Dick Gudkeses
1994-1997.
Education Committee: Many educational programs have been sponsored by
MISHE with the help of this committee. The annual seminar in the fall , the HPS mini clinic and trade show in the spring, as
well as MHA sponsored seminars. The committee has been chaired by Ira Spieker 1978-1980, Thomas Pruente
1980-1983, Richard McCormick 1984-1986, David Krull
1987, Paul Horn 1988-1989, Tom Chill 1990, Larry
LeForge 1993-present.
Newsletter Committee: This committee is responsible for the publication and
development of the MISHE monthly Newsletter. They rely on the membership to contribute
news on topics of interest and the codes and standards members provide any
current information on changes and new developments. The Newsletter is printed
and mailed by the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, who also
contributes relevant articles and information for distribution to the entire
association membership. The committee has been chaired by Allen Schoolcraft
1979-1982, David Watson 1982-1984, Casey Sobczak
1985-1986, Larry LeForge 1987, David Eilers 1988-1990, Bruce Marsh 1991-1994, Pier Zanoni 1995 to present.
Annual Meeting: This group is charged with the responsibility of the
planning and presentation of the annual MISHE meeting held every fall. The
committee is chaired by the President Elect and is supported by the other
executive officers with the help from representatives of the District
Societies. The first of these was on March 12, 1980 at the Northville Hilton
Inn, in
Membership Committee: During the 1982-1983 year, this additional standing
committee was established. This committee was chaired by Roy Agle from 1982-1989 and under his leadership the Society
was granted affiliation with the American Society of Hospital Engineering and
Michigan Hospital Association. An ASHE banner was presented by Bennet McNeal to MISHE at the first annual meeting on March
12, 1980. The formal association dissolved in 1987 but many of the UP members
continued their individual association with the group which has extended an
open invitation to all who wish to attend events. In 1990 Larry LeForge became
committee chairman and served in that capacity through 1993. He was followed by
Lynn Palaszeski 1994-1995, and Ron Borke 1995-1997.
Directory Committee: The exact year of the creation of a formal membership
listing for the Society is not truly known but in some form from the beginning
the Directory has been a major source of revenue for the association and
provides a method of networking among the membership. In the early development
of the directory, four members gave their time to single handedly accomplish
this project. They are David Watson, Bill Parcells,
Roy Agle, and Dick McCormick. At some point after
Dick McCormick’s tenure, the Directory committee became a standing committee to
the board. Tom Chill became the first chairman and served from 1990-1993 and
has been succeeded by Dave Koutz 1994 to present.
Education Committee: In 1991 the formal reporting of the Education
committee began with the development of the Mechanic Education and Certification
for Healthcare (MECHANICAL) program for the certification of Healthcare
Mechanics, initiated by Larry LeForge in cooperation with the National
Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI). The committee consisted of
Larry LeForge, Dick Gudkese, Chip Riddle, and Bob McCurdy who over the period
from 1991 to 1993 worked countless hours to develop the certification program.
In 1994 Dave Koutz became the fifth member of the
committee.
After investing volunteer time and capital
amounting to more than $100,000, the program evolved to a point where it now
includes 3 levels of validated competence testing, (Entry Level, Certified and
Senior Certified), study materials with an extensive bibliography and sample
test questions, a Structured Interview Manual designed to help Healthcare
Engineers and Human Resource Departments "Hire the best mechanic for the
job", a Scholarship program, and plans for Continuing Education Opportunities for Healthcare Mechanics.
In late 1995, MISHE recognized the Kansas
Healthcare Engineering Association as its first Charter Member Organization and
was shortly followed by
In 1996 the MISHE Board of Directors
recognized the need to provide stability and future growth of the program
beyond the dedication of volunteered time of the Education Committee and
established John Holman as the Director of the MECH program. John’s role has
since been expanded to include the organization of the Vendor Show at the
annual meeting and continues to serve as an advisor in support of the many
activities of MISHE as well as developing any possibilities for grant options
to help fund the program as a paid State Director directly reporting to the
MISHE Board of Directors.
The MECH program has been recognized as a
method for Healthcare Institutions to meet the Continuing Education and
Competency Standards of the Joint Commission.
The revenues of the MECH program and support
of the Board of Directors of MISHE have also lead to the award of the first
state Scholarship in October 1997 with plans for eventual development to
include all the Charter Member States.
MECH is just one more way that MISHE
"Provides Better Patient Care Through Quality
Education and Engineering".
In 1997 after action by the board, Bob McCurry and Chip Riddle developed the president scholarship
award consisting of two $1000.00 grants that were awarded at the 1997 annual
conference.
The financial support for the Society has
come from membership dues, the profits from the Directory, revenue from
seminars, the annual meeting vendor show and the MECH program. These programs
have helped to support the activities of Host charters each year for the ASHE
annual meetings, starting with a contribution to the sixth International
Congress of Hospital Engineering in
Historically, one of the brightest moments
for MISHE was the National annual ASHE conference held in
In 1993 the organization had recognized that
it had a broadening base of membership throughout healthcare and as a result by
a vote at the annual meeting the Society changed the official name to the
"Michigan Society of Healthcare Engineering". This more completely
reflects the industry make-up to include all of healthcare engineering beyond
the hospitals.
In it’s relatively
short history MISHE has gone from an idea to an organization that L*E*A*Ds the
industry by all definitions of the word. For MISHE the letters of the word have
an expanded meaning:
LEADERSHIP: by
example and by deeds, the members who have participated in the development,
organization and implementation of MISHE programs past and present represent
the industries finest minds in action.
EDUCATION: in the
development of programs that have the ability to reach the line and entry
personnel through the MECH program, meetings and seminars, education library as
well as the MECH scholarship which reaches out to the Healthcare Engineers of
the future.
ADAPTABILITY: by providing
the means for Healthcare Engineers to network through District meetings and
seminars where new technologies can be investigated.
DILIGENT: through
the on going observation of the regulatory environment by the entire membership
who participates in the shaping and implementation of codes and standards by
attendance at local seminars and through input to the codes and standards
committee.
The engineers, architects, facility managers,
safety officers, vendors and members of the regulatory agencies all benefit
from the existence of MISHE and recognize that they can use the resources of
the organization to "Provide Better Patient Care Through Quality Education
and Engineering".