May 12, 2020

I was hoping that the follow-up letter from my March SWACM update would have had more positive news to share with you. Unfortunately, the update that I have today goes straight to all our hearts although I am certain that none of you will be surprised. To ensure the safety of all our members and remain good stewards within our clinical microbiology community, we have decided to cancel our 2020 annual meeting, planned to take place this September in Kansas City. I personally look forward to this event every year and know that oftentimes this is the only chance that we can see one another in person. The next SWACM annual meeting will be held September 8-11, 2021 in Austin, TX. (We are in the process of rescheduling the Kansas City location for September 7-10, 2022.)

I would like to thank Dr. Rachael Liesman and her team for the hard work they have put into this year’s meeting. Dr. Liesman had set up a wonderful lineup of speakers/topics and was even set to roll out a couple fun new activities for the meeting. Also, many thanks to the board members that have also contributed much time to the planning process, especially Jan Howard, Rhonda Fossett, and Dr. Morgan Pence.

As we move through the rest of 2020, we will work to continue to provide information and communication to our members via our website (www.swacm.org) and our social media platforms. If you have any news from your individual locations and facilities, we would love to hear from you! Please send us any stories or experiences that you want to share with the group (COVID and Non-COVID alike).

I am proud of all clinical microbiologists for the amazing job being done to serve all patients during this time. Can’t wait to see everyone at next year’s meeting in Austin!

Laura Knoll M.S. M.A. MT (ASCP) MB (ASCP)CM
SWACM 2020 President
SWACM 2020 Regional Workshop Chair