What a powerful experience it was to speak to the incredible sales team at Advanced Sterilization Products (ASP) on January 29, 2025. ASP is an industry leader committed to infection prevention, and I had the honor of delivering a keynote that dug deeper than profit margins and quotas—it was about purpose, people, and patient safety.
My keynote, “Empowering Health Equity: The Transformative Role of Sterilization Sales Teams,” focused on how sales professionals play a vital role in reducing infection rates, particularly in hospitals that serve vulnerable populations. I shared stories from my childhood receiving care in underserved public hospitals—and contrasted them with the critical consequences of poor infection prevention I’ve witnessed in my medical career. One story that particularly moved the audience was about a young mother whose life was forever altered by an infection that could have been prevented.
I reminded the audience that health equity doesn’t start in the operating room—it starts with the people who provide the tools that make safe surgeries possible. Whether you’re a sales rep or a technician, you are part of a life-saving ecosystem. Every product sold is an opportunity to uplift healthcare workers, protect patients, and rebuild trust in healthcare systems that have historically underserved marginalized communities.
We explored powerful data, including how health care-associated infections are significantly higher in minority-serving hospitals, and how DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) isn’t just a moral imperative—it’s a business one. I encouraged ASP’s team to not just be sellers of equipment, but champions of health equity and advocates for the invisible heroes in sterilization departments—often overlooked but essential workers.
My challenge to them was this: “What will you do differently tomorrow? Will you see a sale as just a sale—or as the chance to save a life?”
It was an energizing, purpose-driven session, and I left inspired by the passion in the room. Sales is more than a transaction—it’s a transformation. And I’m proud to have been part of this transformative moment with ASP.