Industry Preps for Medtrade East

After missing out on an in-person event in 2020, next week’s event returns to Atlanta with some new features as well as familiar favorites.

• By David Kopf
• Oct 14, 2021

Members of the HME industry are packing their bags to head to Atlanta, where they’ll attend Medtrade East next week in person for the first time since 2019.

Slated for Oct. 18-20 at the Georgia World Congress Center, the event picks up from an in-person edition of Medtrade West, which was held in Phoenix in July. For York Schwab, associate show director of Medtrade East, it’s good to be back.

“It’s been two years since we set foot in the Georgia World Congress Center, and it truly feels like it is time to get back to business,” he says. “The pandemic situation has greatly improved and we will all be wearing masks for Medtrade East. We feel like the absence of in-person gatherings has only shown us how valuable they can be.”

Some New Offerings

In terms of value, Medtrade East will feature some new features. One of the first is the Monday night Welcome to Atlanta Preview Night. Running 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Eastern, the event lets attendees stroll the exhibit hall and meet with vendors over drinks and snacks.

There will also be the Passport to Prizes giveaway, in which attendees take their Passport to Prizes and get it stamped by Preview Night sponsors for a chance to win one of six gift card prizes.

“Preview Night went over particularly well earlier this year at Medtrade West in Phoenix, and we are looking forward to bringing that event to Atlanta,” Schwab says. “The two-hour time limit and late afternoon vibe brings a high level of energy. The VGM Group and Drive DeVilbiss Healthcare will be sponsoring bars and our Passport to Prizes Sponsor is Northshore Adult Diapers.”

New for Medtrade East is MedtradeMeet, an improved system that helps registrants arrange one-on-one meetings with exhibitors. MedtradeMeet accounts are created as people register, and all registrants will be e-mailed log-in information for the brand new MedtradeMeet system. 

Emerald has used the system at other shows, and Schwab says it will be a useful tool for Medtrade East attendees.

Old Favorites

Returning attendees will also see some familiar offerings, such as the return of Medtrade’s Power Lunch. Slated for Oct. 20 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in Room C108/109, the event lets attendees learn from experts, hear from peers, and take solutions back to their businesses. 

Presented by The VGM Group, Power Lunch provides information the helps providers ensure their businesses survive and thrive. Attendees can grab a quick lunch and head to their pre-selected table, where the moderator will kick off your roundtable group discussion. 

Other events include:

• Monday’s series four day-long workshops.
• The American Association for Homecare update, which runs Tuesday, Oct. 19, 8 a.m.–9:30 a.m. in the C101 Auditorium.
• AAHomecare’s Standup for Homecare event on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. at Ventana’s in Atlanta.

Positive Vibes

From his seat at business events company Emerald, which produces Medtrade, associate show director Schwab says he sees “great potential for in-person events to rebound” after Covid-19.

“Our Medtrade West show earlier this year in Phoenix was the first show back for a lot of people, and the vibe was extremely positive,” he says. “We are indeed a big B2B event company, so we may be a bit biased.

“We are optimistic about getting back to normal, and maybe even a bit better than normal,” Schwab adds. “You often don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and we think in-person events definitely fall into that category.”