by Jeff Kent
Given the size of the market for the healthcare built environment, it seems almost unfathomable that, until recently, the sector has never had an organization solely dedicated to the needs of the individuals and institutions involved in the industry. In 2019, the nonprofit Association of Medical Facility Professionals (AMFP) was formed to fill that void.
AMFP is organized around the idea of providing a home for all of the people, organizations and strategic partners that support healthcare facilities. We aspire to be an organization that can work with all members across the country to share information, best practices, and resources with a focus on organizing chapters on a local level.
Membership in AMFP has grown from 200 members at the close of 2019 to nearly 950 through May of this year, despite the challenges of the pandemic. The organization now has 10 chapters across the country, with a goal of having 15 (including Boston) up and running by the close of 2022, and a longer range goal of 25 chapters.
AMFP’s primary goal is to move professionals in the healthcare built environment beyond their silos and to bridge connections between the various practices, presenting networking and educational opportunities at the local, regional, national and international levels.
“Prior to AMFP there was no other organization that brought together everybody in the healthcare environment,” says Andrew Weinberg, director of business development at LF Driscoll Healthcare and president of the New York Chapter of AMFP. “For as long as I’ve been in marketing and business development, there has always been a sense of frustration that there hasn’t been an organization that does what AMFP does. Other organizations overlap some aspects, but there aren’t any that do exactly what we do.”
New York is now the largest chapter in the country with over 340 members, representing 13 healthcare systems as well as 230 companies that have some level of focus in the sector. “I think one of the silver linings of COVID for us was that while other organizations went on “pause” during the pandemic, we were just starting, so it was a great opportunity for people to connect and to build community at a time when people really needed that,” says Weinberg, who was recently named national director of chapter development for AMFP, and will be representing the organization in that capacity at the Hospital, Outpatient Facilities & MOB Summit in Boston on June 8.
“AMFP allows strategic partners to be connected to all of the resources they need,” adds Weinberg. Through his chapter work, he has made connections to institutional decision-makers that have led to projects. But he is quick to point out that while his involvement may seem like a means to an end, it’s really been a labor of love. “As is true with anything, the more you put in, the more you get out and it’s certainly the case here,” he asserts.
Jeff Kent
Jeff Kent is the president of Association of Medical Facility Professionals.
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The Hospital, Outpatient Facilities & MOB Summit will be held June 8 at District Hall in the Seaport, and is co-hosted by Corporate Realty, Design & Management Institute (SquareFootage) and AMFP. High-Profile Monthly is the media partner. Agenda and registration details can be found at www.squarefootage.net or by calling (503) 912-3132.
