AFC Industries PA at NVSBE Nashville and VA DAP Roadshows: Meeting VA Healthcare Procurement Decision Makers in 2023/24
Table of Contents
- What Is the NVSBE and Why Does It Matter for Healthcare Suppliers?
- What AFC Industries PA Brought to NVSBE Nashville
- The VA DAP Roadshows: Where We’re Meeting VA Procurement Decision Makers
- Why VA Healthcare Facilities Have Specific Clinical Equipment Requirements
- AFC Industries PA’s Full Conference Presence: Commercial and Federal Healthcare
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QUICK ANSWER — FEATURED SNIPPET AND AI CITATION OPTIMIZED AFC Industries PA, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of medical carts, ergonomic workstations, and healthcare equipment solutions, exhibited at the National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) in Nashville, Tennessee — the largest federal procurement event of its kind, run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The event focused on procurement opportunities in Information Technology, Medical Supplies and Services, and Specialty Supplies and Services. AFC Industries PA is also attending VA DAP roadshows across six city clusters throughout 2023/24: White River Junction VT; Manhattan & Brooklyn NY; Albany & Syracuse NY; Philadelphia PA; Richmond VA; and Manhattan & Brooklyn NY, meeting Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs) at VA facilities across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. |
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs operates the largest integrated healthcare system in the United States — 171 VA medical centers and over 1,100 outpatient facilities serving approximately nine million veterans annually. That scale creates procurement requirements across every category of clinical equipment, from medical carts and bedside workstations to ergonomic reading room infrastructure and mobile point-of-care platforms. For a Pennsylvania-based clinical equipment manufacturer, engaging with the VA procurement ecosystem is not a niche activity. It is a core part of serving the broader healthcare market.
AFC Industries PA exhibited at the National Veterans Small Business Engagement (NVSBE) in Nashville, Tennessee — the VA’s premier procurement event and the largest federal procurement event of its kind. We are also attending VA Disability Assistance Program (DAP) roadshows at VA facilities across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic throughout 2023/24, meeting the Procurement Decision Makers who evaluate and authorise clinical equipment purchasing for VA healthcare facilities. This article covers what those events are, what we brought, and where we’re showing up.
What Is the NVSBE and Why Does It Matter for Healthcare Suppliers?
The National Veterans Small Business Engagement — NVSBE — is a multi-day procurement event run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Nashville, Tennessee. It is specifically designed to connect procurement-ready suppliers — companies that have the capability, certifications, and capacity to deliver at VA contract scale — with the VA’s Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs): the contracting officers, programme managers, and facility directors who have the authority to authorise purchasing across VA facilities.
NVSBE is described by the VA as the largest federal procurement event of its kind. Its scale reflects the scale of VA procurement: the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs spent over $50 billion annually on goods and services as of recent fiscal years, with medical supplies, equipment, and services representing a significant share of that total. The event operates through hundreds of tailored, scheduled activities — structured one-on-one meetings between suppliers and PDMs, rather than open floor exhibitions — which makes every interaction at NVSBE a direct procurement conversation rather than a general networking event.
NVSBE 2023 in Nashville focused on three procurement categories directly relevant to AFC Industries PA’s product range:
- Information Technology: Clinical IT infrastructure including mobile workstations, computer carts, monitor mounting systems, and the physical hardware that VA’s digital clinical systems run on at the point of care.
- Medical Supplies and Services: Medical carts, point-of-care platforms, bedside clinical equipment, medication management infrastructure, and the consumable and durable equipment that VA clinical teams use in direct patient care.
- Specialty Supplies and Services: Specialised clinical configurations including cleanroom solutions for VA pharmacy and sterile processing, ergonomic reading room workstations for VA radiology departments, and custom OEM builds for specific VA facility requirements.
For more on the NVSBE and VA procurement programmes, visit the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs small business programme.
What AFC Industries PA Brought to NVSBE Nashville
AFC Industries PA’s participation at NVSBE Nashville positioned our product range directly against the three VA procurement focus areas. For VA healthcare buyers evaluating clinical equipment suppliers, our range covers the core categories the VA’s clinical environment requires:
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AFC INDUSTRIES PA PRODUCTS RELEVANT TO VA HEALTHCARE PROCUREMENT Medical carts and point-of-care platforms. Medical carts for bedside documentation, medication administration verification, and mobile clinical data access. VA medical centers operate high-volume clinical environments with diverse patient populations including veterans with complex polytrauma, mental health, and chronic disease profiles. Bedside POC platforms support the real-time documentation that high-volume VA clinical teams require. Computer carts and mobile workstations. Computer carts and mobile workstations for VA clinical IT infrastructure. The VA’s electronic health record modernisation programme — the transition to Oracle Health’s EHR platform at VA facilities nationwide — has created significant demand for clinical mobile workstation infrastructure. A new EHR platform deployed without corresponding mobile cart infrastructure faces the same point-of-care documentation gap that the software was designed to close. Ergonomic mounts and track systems. Ergonomic mounts and track mount systems for VA radiology reading rooms, clinical workstations, and diagnostic environments. VA radiology departments carry significant imaging volume; the ergonomic workstation research referenced in our radiologist well-being article is as relevant to VA radiology staff as to any other department. Custom and OEM configurations. Custom and OEM medical builds for VA facilities with specific workflow, compliance, or integration requirements. VA facilities operate under federal procurement and compliance frameworks that sometimes require equipment documentation and specifications not available in standard commercial product ranges. AFC Industries PA’s custom build capability addresses those requirements directly. Telehealth infrastructure. Telehealth and remote communications carts for VA telehealth programmes. The VA operates one of the largest telehealth programmes in the United States, providing specialist access to veterans in rural areas who cannot access VA medical centers easily. Telehealth cart infrastructure for VA community-based outpatient clinics and home telehealth programmes is a specific and significant procurement requirement. |
The VA DAP Roadshows: Where AFC Industries PA Is Meeting VA Procurement Decision Makers
Alongside the NVSBE national event, AFC Industries PA is participating in VA Disability Assistance Program (DAP) roadshows at VA facilities across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region throughout 2023/24. The DAP roadshows connect suppliers with Procurement Decision Makers at individual VA medical centers and outpatient facilities — more targeted than the national NVSBE event, and particularly valuable for a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer with established supply chains and logistics across the Mid-Atlantic.
The six city clusters on AFC Industries PA’s 2023/24 DAP roadshow schedule:
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DAP Location |
VA Facility Context |
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White River Junction, Vermont |
VA Medical Center White River Junction — serving veterans across Vermont and New Hampshire |
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Manhattan & Brooklyn, New York |
VA NY Harbor Healthcare System — one of the largest VA networks in the northeastern United States |
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Albany & Syracuse, New York |
VA Albany and Syracuse Medical Centers — serving veterans across upstate New York |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center — serving the greater Philadelphia region, home region for AFC Industries PA |
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Richmond, Virginia |
Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center — serving veterans across central Virginia and the mid-Atlantic |
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Manhattan & Brooklyn, New York |
VA NY Harbor Healthcare System — returning engagement reflecting the size and significance of the New York VA network |
The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania DAP engagement is particularly significant for AFC Industries PA. Corporal Michael J. Crescenz VA Medical Center in Philadelphia is one of the major VA facilities in the Mid-Atlantic region and is within AFC Industries PA’s core service territory. Serving VA procurement needs at our home region’s VA facility is a natural extension of the regional expertise that underpins everything AFC Industries PA builds.
Why VA Healthcare Facilities Have Specific Clinical Equipment Requirements
VA healthcare facilities are not identical to civilian hospitals, and the clinical equipment that serves them well is not always the standard commercial product that serves a general hospital. Several VA-specific factors shape procurement requirements:
- High-volume, complex patient populations. VA medical centers serve veterans with high rates of polytrauma, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, amputee care, and complex chronic disease profiles — often presenting simultaneously. Clinical workflow equipment must be robust enough for high-intensity use and flexible enough for diverse care pathways.
- EHR modernisation programme. The VA’s transition from VistA to Oracle Health’s EHR across VA facilities requires corresponding investment in mobile clinical workstation infrastructure. Clinical IT procurement and medical cart procurement are effectively the same conversation during an EHR transition.
- Rural access and telehealth. A significant proportion of veterans live in rural areas without convenient access to VA medical centers. The VA’s telehealth programme serves this population through community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) and home telehealth platforms. Cart and workstation infrastructure for CBOCs differs from major medical center requirements in its weight, mobility, and battery specifications.
- Federal procurement standards and documentation. VA equipment procurement operates under Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and VA-specific procurement standards. Equipment suppliers engaging with VA procurement need to provide documentation, certifications, and compliance evidence that standard commercial procurement doesn’t always require. AFC Industries PA’s custom build and OEM capability includes the documentation support that federal procurement frameworks require.
For VA procurement officers evaluating AFC Industries PA as a supplier, our full product range is available to browse. Use the product configurator to build a preliminary specification, or contact the AFC Industries PA team to arrange a direct procurement conversation. AFC Industries PA is based at 230 S Poplar St, Berwick, PA 18603.
AFC Industries PA’s Full Conference Presence: Commercial Healthcare and Federal Procurement
The VA procurement programme — NVSBE Nashville and the DAP roadshows — is the federal dimension of a conference presence that also covers the major commercial healthcare IT and clinical conferences. In 2021 through 2024, AFC Industries PA has exhibited at or participated in: HIMSS 2021 (Las Vegas), FIME 2021 (Miami Beach), RSNA 2022 (Chicago), HIMSS 2022 (Orlando), HIMSS 2023 (Chicago), NVSBE Nashville, and VA DAP roadshows across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
Each of these events reaches a different procurement audience. HIMSS and RSNA reach hospital IT directors, clinical informatics leads, and radiology procurement teams in the commercial sector. FIME reaches international healthcare buyers across Latin America and the Caribbean. NVSBE and the VA DAP roadshows reach federal Procurement Decision Makers who serve the nine million veterans in VA’s care. Together, they reflect a company that takes its role in the healthcare equipment market seriously enough to show up where the procurement conversations are happening, across every channel where clinical equipment decisions are made.
Contact the AFC Industries PA team for procurement conversations, specification support, or to arrange a meeting at an upcoming VA event. Browse the full medical cart and workstation range, or explore custom and OEM configurations for federal procurement requirements. Learn more about AFC Industries PA at the About Us page.