Anyone who has ever attended Vegas Cosmetic Surgery (VCS) can vouch that the multispecialty meeting is seamless in execution and flawless in presentation.
A lot of this has to do with Delphine Hepp, the executive director?of the Multi-Specialty Foundation, a group whose main objective is the coordination of an annual symposium that brings together key opinion leaders from oculoplastic surgery, dermatologic surgery, facial plastic surgery, and plastics.
Hepp has been working side by side with the groupโs founderโS. Randolph Waldman, MD, a facial plastic surgeon in ?Lexington, Kyโfor the past 12 years. She started off as more of a practice manager, but as VCSโnow in its 11th yearโtook off, her job morphed into that of a full-time event coordinator. The planning, plotting, and prepping for the next event starts the minute one endsโif not before. And now, Hepp is also playing an important role in the rollout of the new Global Aesthetics Conference slated to take place in Miamiโs South Beach this Fall.
โDelphine has been involved in the Vegas Cosmetic Surgery Symposium from its very early days. She is really โmy right handโ with the organization of this event, and her familiarity with many of our faculty members is so very important to the overall success of VCS,โ Waldman says.
Itโs a big job, but itโs one that she makes look easy.
Belle of the Ball
โItโs a year-round job to stay in communication with every member of the faculty and planning committee so that everyone has what they need,โ she says. โWe start off in July by reaching out to faculty to see who is available, and then we begin the process of planning out the program, which takes a few months.โ
Her Rolodex is robust after 11 years, so a lot of times, she just has to reach out to thought leaders and industry with a friendly email to assure participation. โThere is no set template for industry sponsors,โ she says. โWe donโt say, โYou have to sponsor this or thatโ; itโs more of an ร la carte system.โ
She is no โbridezillaโ on game day, but she admits hosting VCS is similar to hosting multiple weddings on the same weekendโespecially now that the conference has taken up all of the meeting space at Las Vegasโ posh Bellagio hotel. โEvery night there are a couple of events going on, including receptions, cocktail seminars, and other meet-and-greets.โ
Despite the frenetic pace, she does enjoy the 5-day meeting. โI like seeing it unfold and catching up with our faculty who come back year after year,โ she says. โYou would think after so many years Iโd be used to it, but seeing the Bellagio rooms all set up is still exciting.โ
Plus, itโs never totally the same meeting as it was the year before, as Waldman and Hepp like to keep things fresh and dynamic. By far, the most exciting add for 2015 is the International Breast & Body Contouring Symposium, which kicks the meeting up a notch or two. The new tract features such sessions as โBody Contouring Technologies: How They Fit Into the Practice in 2015,โ โButtocks Lifting, the Brazilian Point of View,โ and โIncorporating Stem Cell Treatments into Your Body Contour Surgery.โ
Most practice managers wonโt be tasked with putting on an event like VCS very often, but Hepp does have some sage counsel for those planning smaller-scale in-office seminars or media briefings. โConfirm, reconfirm, and confirm again,โ she says of booking guests and speakers. โPut it in writing, and also reach out by phone to let participants know you are accessible and available to discuss any issues that should arise along the way.โ
And as anyone who has ever participated in VCS can attest, this is exactly how Hepp does it.
Denise Mann is the editor of Plastic Surgery Practice. She can be reached at [email protected].