The Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) will honor two leaders who have made extraordinary contributions to patient care at its annual Medtech Impact Gala on April 27 at the Encore Boston Harbor.  

"Our Annual Medtech Impact Gala is a celebration of the impact medical technology has on patient’s lives,” said MassMEDIC President, Brian Johnson. “We are excited to expand the Gala this year with new programming and a new award, which recognizes the commitment to patient care, the cornerstone mission that drives all of our members.”  

A new part of the Gala this year is the introduction of the Impact Award, given in conjunction with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, to individuals who have made significant contributions to patient care through innovations in medical technology, improvements in methods of care, or their efforts to bolster the life sciences ecosystem in Massachusetts. 

The first recipients of the Impact Awards are Chuck Alpuche, retired Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Insulet Corporation, and Thea James, MD, MPH, Vice President of Mission and Associate Chief Medical Officer, Boston Medical Center (BMC), and Executive Director of BMC's Health Equity Accelerator. 

Mr. Alpuche is being recognized with an Impact Award for his many years of incredible work in several industries. For nearly 40 years, he has been dedicated to growing manufacturing within our nation and state. In his most recent time in senior roles at Insulet, he has made a significant impact on our local community and the medical device and life sciences industries.  

We are proud to recognize Dr. James with an Impact Award for her unwavering dedication to our community and health equity. An emergency room doctor by training who still practices part-time, Dr. James serves as Vice President of Mission for the Boston Medical Center. Her work involves creating relationships and strategic alliances to foster innovative and effective new models of care that are essential for patients and communities to thrive and reach their full potential.     

“I can’t think of two better individuals to award the inaugural Impact Awards to than Chuck and Thea,” said Massachusetts Life Sciences Center President and CEO, Kenn Turner. “They have both taken our state and life sciences industry to new levels of excellence. We are all better off as a result of their contributions.” 

Expanding on the success of last year’s back in-person Gala, the organization has added a half-day Symposium to the event that will discuss standards of care for four distinct conditions: Women’s Health Diagnostics, Orthopedic Joint Replacement, Cardiac Intervention, and Diabetes Treatment. 

“We are excited to bring together a diverse group of industry stakeholders to have collaborative conversations around where our industry has been, where it is today, and where it needs to go in the future,” said Chief Operating Officer of MassMEDIC, Rachel Robinson. “These discussions around standard of care will provide insight to our membership regarding potential solutions to today’s challenges and future growth opportunities to improve patient care and outcomes.”  

More information on the Medtech Impact Symposium & Gala is available on Medtech Impact Symposium & Gala - MassMEDIC. The event is hosted by: Abiomed, Alira Health, Insulet, The Mullings Group and NextPhase Medical Devices. The event is sponsored by: Dassault Systemes, Teleflex, Lantheus, NP Medical, Clarivate, Greenberg Traurig, BDO, Medmarc, DePuy Synthes, Hologic, Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Podimetrics, Epson, Exponent, Freudenberg Medical, Full Spectrum, GI Dynamics, Goodwin, MedAcuity, The MedTech Conference, Smith + Nephew and Sunrise Labs. The event is held in partnership with the Boston Medical Center Health System.