Meeting Professionals International (MPI), the largest event and meeting professionals association, purchased the Healthcare Meeting Compliance Certificate (HMCC) program from the International Medical Meeting Professionals Association (IMMPA).
“MPI is committed to providing the best education for our members and the broader meeting and event community – whether through partnerships, developing new content or acquiring existing programs,” explained Cynthia D’Aoust, chief operating officer, MPI.
Launched in 2013, the certificate program is accredited through Saint Louis University; participants learn critical information on compliance regulations, laws and techniques for managing health care meetings. MPI will deliver an enhanced HMCC course on Aug. 2 before the opening of its upcoming World Education Congress (WEC) at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
“We conducted an extensive audit of the HMCC program and believe the curriculum provides an excellent foundation for the growing health care meeting sector and its complex regulatory environment. Last year, we announced our strategic plan to provide education specifically for this segment of meeting professionals and the acquisition of the HMCC program is just the beginning,” added D’Aoust.
As part of the acquisition, MPI will partner with Saint Louis University’s Center for Workforce & Organizational Development to facilitate the HMCC program. The association has also appointed IMMPA Founder and HMCC Principal Instructor Pat Schaumann, CMP, CSEP, DMCP, HMCC, as its new director of professional development, health care sector.
Schaumann will lead content development of new health care educational offerings and continue to manage the certificate program for MPI, ensuring a seamless transition from IMMPA, which discontinued operations.
Each year, MPI plans to offer numerous HMCC sessions during industry conferences, at Saint Louis University and via private sessions for companies and organizations. MPI has enhanced the program by extending the course from three hours to four hours of robust lecture and discussion activities. Moreover, program participants will now earn 0.4 clock hours compared to the previous 0.3 clock hours upon completion of the class, which complements the health care subspecialty of the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) program offered by the Convention Industry Council (CIC).
“When CIC introduced the CMP health care sub-specialty last year, we knew there was an industry need for more resources and education,” said Karen Kotowski, CAE, CMP, CEO, CIC. “The addition of MPI’s HMCC course creates additional opportunities for meeting professionals to learn and succeed in a changing health care climate. And it also paves the path for the CMP-HC exam. The hours spent pursuing the HMCC certificate qualify for a part of the required continuing education hours needed to sit for the CMP-HC exam.”
Detailed information on MPI’s HMCC program will be published on the association’s website this summer.
In the meantime, visit http://tinyurl.com/MPIHMCC for program details provided by Saint Louis University.
To register for the HMCC class and other health care education sessions offered at WEC 2014, visit www.mpiweb.org/wec.
