History of SHS

In 1964, Fred Green suggested to the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), known today as the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, or IISE, that there were a growing number of industrial engineers in healthcare, and that they should recognize this field as one that needed special attention. IIE agreed, and Health Services Division of IIE (HSD) was established.

HSD was successful in establishing itself, and in February, 1970, it held its first Annual Conference in New Orleans the two days before the 1970 HMSS meeting. This was the first conference sponsored by an IIE Division. Divisional conferences continued annually until 1984, when the entire February Systems Conference became jointly sponsored by both the HSD and HMSS.

In, 1972 the Health Services Division published their first conference proceedings. This was the first conference proceedings published by HMSS in three years.

In 1975, HSD began awarding a Special Award to a member in recognition of his/her contributions to the Health Care Field. The award was continued until the Division became a Society in 1988.

In addition to the February Conference, HSD provided two days of technical sessions during the IIE Annual Conference. This continued until IIE changed the format of this conference to emphasize techniques rather than fields in the late 1970s or early 1980s. When there were only two or three papers about health services in the IIE May conference, the attendance from HSD members dropped, and HSD was no longer a force in the IIE May conference.

However, as long as it was a Division, the annual business meeting of the HSD was held in conjunction with the IIE May conference, even though attendance was very small.

In 1987, the IIE Board of Trustees agreed to the formation of Societies within IIE, and the officers of the HSD, who had been among those seeking such as organizational change, immediately started the process of becoming a Society. As a result, they were the first Society to be formed within IIE.

Shortly after the formation of the Society for Health Systems (SHS), there was a demand for a journal, and SHS established the Journal of the Society for Health Services.

In 1989, the fall Quest for Quality and Productivity in Healthcare Conference was started, and was an immediate success. An award for best paper was established for this conference.

In 1991, the Directors of Management Engineering expressed a need for a forum, and DOME was established to provide them with a means of communicating between each other.