PYA participating in and helping sponsor NHCC mission to Israel
By Tom Ballard, Chief Alliance Officer, PYA
A 31-person delegation from the Nashville Health Care Council (NHCC) is in Israel this week, and Jeff Pate, Chief Business Development Officer for PYA, the power behind teknovation.biz, is among those on the trip.
Officially dubbed the “International Health Care Study Mission,” it is the 12th such trip organized by the NHCC. The mission business officially started yesterday and continues through Thursday. PYA is a supporting sponsor of the delegation which began the five-day educational trip in Jerusalem and will move tomorrow to Tel Aviv.
Led by former U.S. Senator and Majority Leader Bill Frist, the mission’s stated purpose is to “help delegates establish relationships with key government and industry leaders in Israel and to learn first-hand about Israel’s healthcare delivery system and start-up community. In addition, the mission further positions Nashville as an industry capital, setting the stage for future business and educational collaborations, and helps build lasting relationships among Nashville’s health care executives.”
One highlight of yesterday was a Fireside Chat with Dr. Itamar Grotto, Associate Director General, Israel Ministry of Health, and Senator Frist. There was also a morning session featuring Shai Melcer, Chief Executive Officer of BIOHOUSE, that spotlighted how Jerusalem’s innovation ecosystem developed and an afternoon visit to and presentation about MassChallenge Israel. The start-up accelerator has helped more than 150 companies since its founding just four years ago. Late last week, the latter program announced the 52 start-ups that will be part of its latest class.
Today’s schedule features a discussion about the Innovation Center at Sheba Medical Center and a venture capital panel. Later in the week, the group will have sessions on digital health innovation and fostering greater collaboration between hospitals, academicians, and industry as well as hear pitches from several Israeli start-ups.
For Pate, who leads PYA’s business development activities, it’s an opportunity to further expand the firm’s brand and knowledge. PYA is already a top 20 healthcare consulting company in the U.S. with clients in all 50 states.
“In order to grow beyond that position, both domestically and abroad, we must actively seek new avenues in which to raise awareness of the many ways our expertise can HELP others,” Pate wrote in a recent email to his colleagues describing the mission. “We must be open to learning how healthcare functions in other parts of the world and bring innovative thought back into our own ecosystem to impact the potential for change.”
We hope to have one or two updates from Pate this week.
