Eastern Chapter 

President’s Message | Sponsors | Officers and Committees | Minutes

President’s Message

I am honored to step in to serve as the President of the Eastern Chapter!

I am excited to serve an organization that has helped me throughout my healthcare career. When I started in the healthcare industry I had many opportunities to learn how to navigate complex and unique problems. One of the early lessons I learned was networking is vital to finding solutions to problems quickly. The WSSHE team is full of compassionate intelligent hard-working healthcare professionals that are willing to lend a helping hand. There are many resources available to members, from conferences and education sessions, to networking and business partners, to help face healthcare challenges. Being a member of WSSHE creates a safer and more comfortable physical environment for our patients, visitors, and staff.

We hear all the time that we want to make this world a better place, but few are willing to do something about it. I have learned that the people in WSSHE are willing to do something about it, from working together on out-of-the-box thinking to implementing, working together for a better world is a huge task, and one that cannot be done alone. It takes many ideas, and people willing to allow thing to change. 

With the continuedly changing environment in healthcare it is hard to always keep up with the new up and coming ideas. WSSHE partners and friends do everything they can to help take these new ideas and present them to the professionals so that we can see if that is something that we want to move forward with.  

I started my journey with WSSHE 6 years ago and from my first conference that I attended, everyone that I have been introduced to has welcomed me to this family and provided me with the ability to grow in my knowledge of this career. I want to carry that tradition on. This career is not something that anyone can do as we experience many different emotions as it is with all professional societies the friends and networking is the part that drives me to continue to come to.

The physical environment in healthcare is one of the most complex and challenging environments to operate and maintain. Clinicians and support staff rely on us to provide an environment where they can where they can do their best work in caring for patients. Without facilities, patient care can’t happen. Unfortunately, it can be pretty thankless job because when we do our job right, it often goes unnoticed. End users think things “just work”. On the other side of the curtain, however, we know it takes hard work, a coordinated team effort, vast amounts of knowledge, and a great deal of creativity to keep things “just working”.

My experience in healthcare started as a business partner and the relationships built within WSSHE helped me understand the broader challenges of healthcare engineering outside of my area of work. Participation in the committees’ board meetings provided an invaluable window into the perspectives of those on the front lines. When I started at Seattle Children’s, I was grateful for the knowledge and insight gained from my many years in WSSHE. 

The networking, education, and friendships are what keep me coming back year after year, and I look forward to continuing efforts to bring the value of this amazing organization to others in our community. I encourage anyone interested in deepening their understanding of this industry to get involved in WSSHE – join s committee, attend a board meeting, become a member. 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve!

Sincerely, 

Michael Nafzgar, 2023 Eastern Chapter President

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