From May 15-20, physicians and scientists from around the world gathered in Denver at the Colorado Convention Center for the ATS 2015 International Conference to discover the latest information on clinical, basic, and translational science in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine. Founded in 1905, the International Conference welcomes more than 14,000 visitors each year and features educational sessions, interactive workshops, and discussions.
Employees from Cook’s Critical Care division traveled to Denver to showcase Cook’s products and provide unique educational opportunities for conference attendees.
On Sunday, May 17, Cook hosted an EBUS workshop to show clinicians with all levels of experience a new approach to pulmonary biopsy procedures. Dr. Lonny Brett Yarmus, from Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, kicked off the workshop with a 30-minute lecture. After the lecture, he was joined by Dr. Nichole Tanner from the Medical University of South Carolina, and together they conducted hands-on product demonstrations.
Over 40 workshop participants got the opportunity to use Cook’s ProCore™ EBUS Needle, which is designed to give clinicians the ability to retrieve high-value tissue samples from hard-to-reach regions.
Click here to register for information on upcoming Critical Care workshops near you.
Cook also debuted a new booth at ATS 2015. The booth featured touch-screens and live product handcrafting by Kenny, a member of our production team. Kenny, who has worked in production for 23 years, was at the booth to demonstrate the process of sideporting a drainage catheter, and he helped several physicians try their hand at it. One physician from Italy even filmed the process so that he could share it with his fellows back home.
Many of the physicians were surprised to see that sideporting was done by hand instead of a machine, and one person remarked to Kenny that “those are the steadiest hands I’ve ever seen.” When we caught up with Kenny after the conference, he shared his experiences and reflected on what has motivated him throughout the 23 years he’s been working for Cook.
“You never know when one of your family members will be the one who needs this product,” Kenny said. “That’s instilled in me, and it’s what motivates me.”
Drs. Tanner and Yarmus are paid consultants of Cook Medical.