2023 is a big year for several of our most popular wound care models!
Learn a bit more about our top-selling wound care models:
Wilma Wound Foot
This year marked 15 years since the launch of Wilma Wound Foot in 2008.
- Extremely realistic—molded from an 80-year-old patient.
- 20 conditions presented on the model including, Stages 1, 2, 3, 4, neuropathic ulcer, callus, and gangrene.
- Each wound is hand painted for optimal identification and teaching opportunities.
Seymour II Wound Care Model
This year marked 20 years since the launch of Seymour II Wound Care Model in 2003.
- Our Seymour II is incredibly lifelike and the most comprehensive model of its kind.
- Model displays Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, and deep Stage 4 pressure injuries.
- Perfect for demonstrating wound cleansing, classification, staging, and measurement of wounds.
Partnership with Linfield University
We are thrilled to partner with Linfield University’s Good Samaritan School of Nursing and provide access to our VATA models—including products that have yet to be released to the general public!
We Had a Busy Spring!
We attended the following shows around the country:
INS (Infusion Nurses Society)
April 1-3, 2023
Boston, Massachusetts
“This show was one of the first places we took a prototype of the IV wearable. A customer was taking pictures of it on my arm, it was a lot of fun. This is such a collaborative community and the ultimate goal is to improve patient care. It’s helpful for us to hear feedback from nurses so we can improve the experience for them. It’s about filling a need, not selling products. It’s so helpful to get their feedback and ideas.”
–Andrew Call, President
SAWC (Symposium on Advanced Wound Care)
April 27-29, 2023
National Harbor, Maryland
“I enjoy going to SAWC every year for several reasons. Many of the people at this show have our products and have enjoyed our products for years. I love meeting people and seeing how we can help people out with problems. I also love getting to meet other exhibitors. There were also at least 20 different booths that were using our products to showcase their own products, which was cool to see. It’s great to meet new people and learn new ways to better help our customers.”
–Andrew Call, VATA President
ONS (Oncology Nursing Society)
April 27-29, 2023
San Antonio, Texas
“ONS is a large conference and the focus is Oncology Nursing. We showcase various models from infusion to ultrasound and even suture trainers, but by far the most popular model is our Chester Chest. He's been around the block since 1987, so it's quite common for visitors at our booth to already be pretty familiar with Chester. One highlight at ONS this year was to see a lot of new interest in our more portable and compact model for IVAD access training, the Port "Body-in-a-Box" model. It's always fun to show someone a model that could help fill a need in their sim lab or training program!
–Brandi Walker, VATA Inside Sales and Account Manager
WOCN (Wound Ostomy and Continence Nurses Society)
June 4-6, 2023
Las Vegas, Nevada
“The thing that really stood out to me at this show was that we had several people asking us for one particular product which made us realize that there is a real need for this type of product. We left that show with a drive to create a new model that can meet our customers’ needs.”
–Andrew Call, VATA President
INACSL (International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning)
June 15-17, 2023
Providence, Rhode Island
“The biggest thing for this show was being able to connect with people who are actual users of our products. Setting up the models, taking down the models, they know our products better than anyone. We can learn a lot from these people. This year 60% of people were first time attendees to the show. This was also great because that’s a lot of people who haven’t yet been introduced to our products. This show was also a great chance to talk to the other exhibitors and learn from them.”
–Andrew Call, VATA President
Celebrating Our Team!
In Q2 this year, we celebrated several work anniversaries at VATA!
- Andrew - 18 years
- Mary - 15 years
- Christina - 13 years
- Susan - 13 years
- Brandi - 4 years
- AJ - 1 year
- Jr - 1 year
Celebrating 15 Years At VATA!
This spring marked 15 years at VATA for our incredible Office Manager, Mary Nizich! We chatted with Mary to learn more about her journey and what’s next.
How has VATA changed since you joined the team?
We’ve grown and expanded both in sales and new personnel. I’ve enjoyed getting to know all of our new employees who have joined our team. There are still a few old timers who started at our previous location in Oregon City over 16 years ago.
Since I’ve been here, we’ve only had three people retire. We have very loyal employees, which I think says a lot about VATA and the family culture that Tom (Call, VATA Founder) started and Andrew (Call, VATA President) has continued. I am thankful for the feeling of family here at work.
The volume of our business has grown so much. Back in the day, we would make 10 Chester Chests in a week and now we’re making 60-75 a week. We used to produce one set of Seymour Wound Care models in a day and now we’re running three sets of Seymour Wound Care models a day, consistently.
I have enjoyed sharing Vata’s growth with my own family as well. A couple of years ago, we were so busy that we hired two of my sons to help us out, temporarily. It was fun boxing up Chester Chest models with them in the shop.
I appreciate how Andrew will bring in lunch for the whole team when we hit big milestones or when we’ve had an exceptionally busy week. It’s really good for morale and I am grateful for his thoughtfulness.
After working for so many years, I have gotten to know many of our regular customers/distributors who have been around as long as I have. It’s rewarding to build those relationships and trust over the years with our customers.
What are you most proud of in your 15 years at the company?
From production scheduling with Reid to sharing tasks with Brandi and Miriah in the office and weekly team meetings, we communicate pretty well as a team.
We track on-time delivery and lead time. Our average lead time to ship is under 2 weeks, which is fabulous considering the busy times. And our on-time delivery is over 97%. All of that has to do with good communication and teamwork. I’m really proud of our ability to work together and manage schedules and production.
What’s your favorite thing about work each day?
My favorite thing about coming to work is feeling that I am part of a team who makes quality medical training products which help people around the world. Our physical office environment is really nice to work in too…I enjoy the colorful walls and windows all around.
What excites you about the future?
I don’t envision my role changing too much. I’ll still be answering customer inquiries (phone and email), entering orders, managing the office, etc. We are working toward a little more automation to handle the order entry from sales growth.
We are receiving a lot more custom product requests and it is exciting to see how we are able to produce these new products quicker with the advances in technology.
I’m 52 and my goal is to retire by 60. I’m looking forward to grandchildren!