Communication From Larry Sloan, AIHA CEO: Important Q&As about AIHce EXP
As you may know, registration for our annual conference, AIHce EXP, opened in December. The on-site event will be in Nashville, Tennessee, May 23-25, 2022.
Many people have expressed concerns to my staff and me about AIHce EXP this year, especially considering the more transmissible Omicron variant. I thought it would be helpful if I addressed some of the inquiries in this email.
IS AIHce EXP REALLY GOING TO BE ON-SITE THIS YEAR OR DO YOU THINK YOU MIGHT GO TO AN ENTIRELY VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT AGAIN?
Our plans are to be in Nashville in May. Let me repeat that: we fully intend to be in Nashville. Only in the unlikely event that the state of Tennessee or the Federal government were to issue a lockdown would we have to pivot to an entirely virtual conference. To enable us to meet safely in-person, we are implementing advance safety precautions and on-site protocols to help protect all attendees and my staff leading up to and throughout the event.
WHY DO YOU NEED A PROOF OF VACCINATION OR NEGATIVE PCR TEST REQUIREMENT FOR ON-SITE ATTENDANCE?
All attendees will be required to show proof of their complete COVID-19 vaccine cycle, or the results of a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) COVID-19 test within three (3) days (72 hours) to receive the badge credentials for admittance to all AIHce EXP events, including PDCs.
This policy is aligned with guidance and recommendations issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other public health authorities. The COVID-19 vaccines approved by the FDA for both emergency and full use authorization have been determined to be highly effective in reducing community transmission of COVID-19.
We have the responsibility to maintain a safe and healthy environment for our conference attendees, staff, partners, and vendors. We understand there are reasons why people cannot or do not want to be vaccinated, but we are giving you the option to still attend without being vaccinated. Simply provide proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of checking in…that is all we ask. For those attendees who are unable to provide either or who feel the risk of meeting in person is too great for them, we are also offering a robust virtual conference option.
AIHA is working on a technology solution that will enable meeting registrants to securely submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or the results of a negative PCR test after initial registration is completed. We will communicate further details as soon as possible.
Although we are not currently including the requirement of being up-to-date with your vaccines (meaning, booster(s) included) or requiring a rapid, 24-hour PCR test to attend the live event, this is subject to change. We will continue to monitor guidance by CDC and other health authorities over the coming months and will notify you if there are any changes to our on-site attendance policy.
DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE HVAC SYSTEMS AND VENTILATION OF THE NASHVILLE CONVENTION CENTER AND AREA HOTELS?
As the association for safeguarding worker health and safety, AIHA’s first priority is the health and well-being of our attendees, exhibitors, allied partners, and staff when it comes to hosting meetings and events. That is why we asked our resident staff IH, Michele Twilley, DrPH, CIH, to review and approve the HVAC specs and ventilation details for the convention center and each of the hotels in the AIHce EXP block. You may find the data here:
I AM STILL CONSIDERING MY COMFORT LEVEL OF ATTENDING AIHce IN-PERSON. DOES AIHA HAVE ANY ADVICE?
We are giving you various options to attend AIHce EXP this year. We certainly hope you can make it on-site, whether you’ve been vaccinated or can provide proof of a negative PCR 72 hours prior to checking-in. Given people’s personal or professional restrictions on travel this year, we are accommodating you with a very robust virtual conference option. After two years of poor technological platforms, we knew we needed to be even more meticulous than ever before in what platform we will choose for 2022. So, we approached this year’s software selection process working closely with a third-party risk management firm (unaffiliated with our software provider). Their team has been instrumental in vetting various software vendors with staff and is familiar with the virtual event platform we have selected. They are currently evaluating all the pinch points and prescribing fail-safe protocols to overcome any unanticipated technical issues. We are confident that the start of our conference on Monday will go off without a hitch.
I encourage you to check out this video from Board President, John Mulhausen, and volunteer member, Felix Boachie, discussing the personal risk assessments they are using to determine if they will attend AIHce on-site or virtually this year.
Whichever way we connect with you in May -- on-site in Nashville or virtually -- rest assured we are prepared to deliver the best possible learning and networking experience to you. Thank you for putting your trust in us and continued support as we deliver this first-class conference EXPerience.
Sincerely,
Lawrence D. Sloan, FASAE, CAE
Chief Executive Officer, AIHA
P.S. If you are ready to join us at AIHce EXP this year, remember to register before March 20 to take advantage of advance rates.