The North Central Biomedical Association’s 2026 annual meeting brings together HTM professionals from across the upper Midwest for education, networking, and hands-on technical training.
By Alyx Arnett
The North Central Biomedical Association’s (NCBA) 2026 annual conference is underway this week at Madden’s Resort on Gull Lake in Brainerd, Minn, drawing healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals from Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Iowa for three days of education, vendor exhibits, and peer exchange. The event runs Sept 9–11, continuing a tradition the association has maintained for more than three decades.
This year’s program arrives as HTM departments across the region confront a familiar mix of pressures: expanding workloads, constrained budgets, and a tight labor market. NCBA president Lucas J. Stair says the educational sessions were shaped by those realities.
“We’re all doing more with less. Workloads continue to grow and evolve, budgets are tight, and the hiring pipeline is a challenge,” Stair says. “This year’s presentations offer solutions to enhance efficiencies, establish connections with new technologies and continue our work to contain the cost of healthcare.”
Regulatory Guidance Takes Center Stage
Among the sessions Stair points to as essential is a presentation from Mike Bernstein on behalf of The Joint Commission, scheduled for Thursday afternoon following the scholarship awards luncheon. The session will address changes to the accreditation manuals and how HTM departments can ensure adherence to standards—an area of persistent concern for biomedical teams navigating overlapping federal, state, and accreditor requirements.
Other Thursday sessions tackle workforce and documentation challenges head-on. Gabby Lapnow of Medasource will lead a talk on workforce retention and succession planning, while Heidi Horn, Kurt Finke, and Nader Hammoud will present “If It Isn’t Documented, It Didn’t Happen: HTM’s Invisible Work Problem.” A two-part Hiring Leader Roundtable with Eric Ross, Mitch Von Ruden, and Scott Bosch runs across the afternoon, and a Women in HTM panel led by Heather Weber is slated for Thursday morning.
Technology-focused sessions round out the program. Attendees can choose from talks on AI co-pilots for field service technicians, medical device cybersecurity, wearable physiologic monitoring support, surgical video imaging chains from Karl Storz, and Baxter’s SmartCare remote management platform.
Vendor Expo and Hands-On Training
The Thursday afternoon vendor expo will feature more than 30 exhibitors. “Many of our vendors are returning to the NCBA conference, with new solutions and offerings to build into our workflows,” Stair says.
Running alongside the main program is a separate four-day GE HealthCare Giraffe/Panda Warmer technical training course, led by trainer Josh Watkins. The course, which requires separate registration, began Tuesday and covers machine fundamentals, disassembly, maintenance, and IRES procedures. Stair says the training addresses a practical bedside need in family birth centers.
“With shrinking budgets and travel limitations, we’re able to educate our membership to provide support at the bedside in the family birth centers, a very sensitive and high acuity area,” he says.
Investing in the Next Generation
NCBA will again award two $500 scholarships to HTM students during Thursday’s luncheon. Stair says the program reflects the association’s broader commitment to workforce development. “A robust talent pool is vital to HTM,” he says, noting that many member healthcare organizations partner with local biomedical schools through internships, equipment donations, and faculty involvement.
Beyond the formal program, Stair says the value of the conference comes from what members take back to their organizations.
“Many of us come away from these few days with a renewed sense of purpose, new relationships, and some new vendor offerings we can build into the work we do to support our medical equipment inventories,” he says.
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