MassMEDIC Hosts Gala to Celebrate the Region's MedTech Industry Achievements

BOSTON, July 8, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Event To Honor Tom Sommer, founder and president emeritus, of MassMEDIC

Keynote speakers include Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Dr. Charlotte Yeh of AARP

The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) hosts its first annual MassMEDIC Gala and Awards dinner tonight at the Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel from 5:00 to 8:30 p.m. A sold out crowd of 300 guests representing the medical device industry in Massachusetts will celebrate the accomplishments and impact of the region's medtech industry on the economy and most importantly, on the health and well-being of citizens of Massachusetts and the world.

"Our evening's theme is patients and purpose. Medtech continues to be a major contributor to the region's economy and workforce. So tonight, we will celebrate the Commonwealth's medical device companies that imagine, develop and produce technology that helps patients heal and thrive. We will also acknowledge the successful year for MassMEDIC and our medtech community," said Brian Johnson, president of MassMEDIC. "And we honor our founder and president emeritus, Tom Sommer, for his vision and passion that established and built MassMEDIC into one of the most influential medtech industry organizations in the world."

The evening will feature two keynote speakers, the Honorable Joseph Kennedy III (Massachusetts 4th district), and Dr. Charlotte Yeh, Chief Medical Officer for AARP Services, Inc. Guests will also hear inspiring presentations by two patient advocates. In both cases, these individuals' lives were saved by medical devices developed and produced by Massachusetts-based companies. Adam Millar, a 19-year-old hockey player was treated for his atrial fibrillation with devices from Abiomed. Heidi Dohse is the founder of Tour de Heart an organization dedicated to providing hope and inspiration to heart patients. After surgery to treat her rare arrhythmia disorder, she is now 100 percent pacemaker-dependent on a Boston Scientific device. Heidi competes in endurance cycling events and is training for her first IRONMAN event in November.

Marie O'Malley, board chair of MassMEDIC, will speak for all of MassMEDIC when she honors and thanks Tom Sommer, MassMEDIC founder and president emeritus, with a brief presentation and gift. The region's Medtech community owes Tom a great debt of gratitude. Tom helped to make Massachusetts a hub for medtech and through its federal policy initiatives, MassMEDIC helped unite and propel the national medtech ecosystem to a leadership position. Tom established several important programs, IGNITE for start-ups and the Medtech Showcase?two programs that helped launch many of the successful CEOs and companies in the region.

MassMEDIC thanks our event host sponsors Ximedica, Hologic, The Medtech Conference powered by AdvaMed, and The Mullings Group, as well as our networking sponsors GreenbergTraurig, propel and vwr part of avantor.

About MassMEDIC:
The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC), an organization of more than 300 manufacturers, suppliers, research institutions, and academic health centers, promotes the unique interests of the Bay State's growing and vibrant medical device sector. Through a variety of programs, informational seminars, advocacy campaigns and other projects, MassMEDIC provides medical device manufacturers and suppliers with information on industry trends and regulatory policies and creates forums that allow members to exchange ideas and information on issues affecting the industry. For more information on MassMEDIC, visit our web site at http://www.massmedic.com.

SOURCE MassMEDIC