WATERLOO, Iowa (June 16, 2016)—The VGM Group introduced the HME Woman of the Year Award during a special session at its annual Heartland Conference.

Open to all women who work in the industry, criteria for the HME Woman of the Year award includes paving new ways of innovation and new business processes, leadership that has secured legislative wins, improving the lives of patients and making lifelong impressions on her community.

“Women play such an important role in our industry and we want to recognize that by honoring a specific woman for the contributions she has made through leadership, patient care, best practices, advocacy or any other aspect of leadership,” said Mike Mallaro, chief executive officer for VGM Group, Inc.

The announcement was made during a special session, Women and Wine, which celebrated the women of HME and included a presentation on managing stress and the importance of developing a community of peers to share questions, thoughts and to celebrate accomplishments.

“The purpose of the award is to not only highlight existing leaders, but inspire action and mentorship to grow the HME architects of tomorrow,” Mallaro adds. “As the landscape of health care shifts, our industry requires an all-hands-on-deck mentality and growing pool of leaders.”

Mallaro mentioned that the award is officially open for nominations and that the winner will be announced at the 2016 Medtrade conference in Atlanta this fall.

To complement the award, a new LinkedIn online community, Women of HME, has been created to help promote cohesion and community among women in the industry.

For more information about the HME Woman of the Year Award, including criteria and the nomination process, visit vgm.com/hmewomanoftheyear