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ISRC
Honors Retired Practitioners
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Tom
Gable
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| A few individuals who were prominent in
the advancement of respiratory care in southwest Idaho were honored with
plaques of appreciation by the ISRC at the annual conference in Boise. |
George Pfoertner and David Merrick
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| Pulmonologist Dr. David Merrick was recruited to St.
Luke’s Hospital in the late 1960’s by pioneering heart surgeon Rod Herr.
He developed the respiratory (inhalation) therapy department and pulmonary
function lab there. Dr. Merrick was also an adjunctive faculty member for
the respiratory therapy program at Boise State University for many years
and indoctrinated several generations of respiratory therapists in the
nuances of pulmonary medicine. A number of years before Dr. Merrick retired,
he changed his practice to specialize in sleep medicine. He is now fully
retired in Boise and McCall. |
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Pulmonologist Dr. George Pfoertner also came to Boise in
the late 1960’s. He became affiliated with St. Alphonsus Hospital. He was
the Medical Director for St. Al’s respiratory therapy department for many
years. Dr. Pfoertner retired several years ago. He resides in Boise. |
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| Dr. Nirmal Charan came to Boise in the 1970’s from the
University of Washington and started a training program in pulmonary medicine
and critical care for UW at the Boise VA Medical Center. He is a Professor
of Medicine and was the Chief, Section of Pulmonary & Critical Care
at the Boise VA. Dr. Charan is world renown for his research on bronchial
circulation. Fifteen years ago, he instituted a memorial annual pulmonary
conference in the name of Dr. John Butler, one of Dr. Charan’s mentors
and colleagues at the UW. The conference, held in Boise, allows Idaho respiratory
therapists to see and hear some of the most prestigious pulmonary and critical
care experts in the world. For many years Dr. Charan has been the Medical
Director of our society. He is now semi-retired in Boise. |
| Professor Emeritus Conrad Colby was recruited from the
Boise State University Biology department to lead a fledgling BSU respiratory
therapy department in the 1970’s. Under Dr. Colby’s many years of leadership,
that program matured, expanded and is currently very well respected nationally.
Although Dr. Colby is technically retired, he works daily as a consultant
and facilitator for many medical, social and educational endeavors. He
also continues to be the ISRC appointee to the AARC Political Advocacy
Contact Team (PACT). |
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Conrad Colby and Nirmal Charan
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George Burger
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George Burger received his initial respiratory (inhalation)
therapy training at Treasure Valley College in Ontario in the late 1960s.
That program essentially went on to become what is now the respiratory
therapy program at Boise State University. Mr. Burger started the respiratory
(inhalation) therapy department at St. Luke’s Hospital in Boise. Under
his direction, that department grew and blossomed. In later years Mr. Burger
was the Director of Respiratory Services at the Idaho Elks Rehabilitation
Hospital in Boise. He is now retired in Nampa. |
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| David Nuerenberg was an educator, inhalation therapist
and department manager at a prestigious midwestern hospital. He was the
author of one of the earliest texts on “inhalation therapy”. In 1971 he
was recruited to Idaho to be the director of inhalation therapy at Caldwell
Memorial Hospital (now West Valley Medical Center). Mr. Nuerenberg had
planned to get ready for retirement in the slower paced West. Along with
his administrative duties at the hospital, he also was a major teacher
for the respiratory therapy programs at BSU and the Caldwell Technician
School. Mr. Nuerenberg educated several generations of Idaho therapists
until he finally actually retired. He enjoys his Sand Hollow ranch, near
Caldwell. |
David Nuerenberg
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ISRC
Board Meeting
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November
10th, 6:00 p.m.
Anderson
Center at St. Luke's Boise
Boise,
Idaho
Phone
Conference
All
board meetings are open meetings and all members are welcome and appreciated.
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For
details on the number and pass code, contact Brandi Johnson for more information
at johnsonb@slrmc.org
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ISRC
Election Results
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Brandi
Johnson, President
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| The results of the election of Officers and Board members
for 2009 were announced at the Annual Business Meeting during this year's
annual conference. |
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President-elect: George Pletcher, Meridian
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Vice President: Mark Wood, Boise
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Secretary: Mendy Burns, Twin Falls
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Director at-large: Michele Andrew, Boise
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Delegate: Kelly Dwello, Boise
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| Our new Officers will be joining continuing Board members: |
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Past President: Brandi Johnson, Boise
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Treasurer: Carrie Massey, Idaho Falls
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Director at-large: Steve Schaal, Rupert
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Delegate: Ramona Sailor, Twin Falls
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Student Representative: Heather VanOrden, Pocatello
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| And thank you to our outgoing Board members TJ Wing (Vice
President), Elena Ilyusha (Secretary) and Dana Hagestad (Director). |
| Congratulations and thank you all for promoting and supporting
your professional organization. |
| Note: Recently our 2008 President-elect (2009
President) Nikkie Stephens resigned that position because she moved out
of state. At the Annual Business Meeting, the Board elected George Pletcher
to fill the vacancy in the 2008 President-elect position. He will then
accede to the Presidency in 2009. That means Mr. Pletcher is resigning
his just announced 2009 President-elect position. The Board will elect
a replacement in 2009. |
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ISRC
Web Site
www.idasrc.org
Education
- Resources - Employment
- Meetings/Events - Scholarships
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Camp
Super Breathers 2008
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Michele
Andrew, RRT
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| We had such a great camp this year! We did things
a little differently which is always a gamble but this time it really paid
off. Our dilemma was keeping our teens interested in returning to
camp. We gear so much of the education and camp experience to the
8-12 year olds the teens were getting bored. And you know how bored
teens act! This year Rob Nesbitt had a great idea. He, along
with Dr. Mark Mering from Terry Reilly Health Clinic, and several other
CSB staff took the teens on a 1/2 day float trip on the Snake out of Hagerman
on Tuesday. They got back Tuesday evening, then left Wednesday morning
for an overnight hike to Skillern Hot Springs up Big Smokey Canyon.
They all had a great time with no emergencies. Of course they took
our emergency back packs with first aid equipment donated by St. Als ER
and battery-powered nebulizers donated by Lincare and all the kids’ daily
medications. Those of us left at camp had an equally fulfilling time
with the younger kids who were no longer being pestered by the older ones.
Fishing was poor due to the high water levels of the spring so we panned
for gold. I had several kids that became ace gold-panners, finding
the black sands and the gold flakes with ease. We did archery, volleyball
and all the other fun things. Ann Bromley, RRT, Mark Wood,
RRT and the BSU RT students did some awesome educational sessions that
made learning fun. The BVAA Docs were great as usual with Dr. Palmer
and Dr. Mering playing kickball with the kids. |
| With all our efforts to raise money this year we not
only paid for this year's camp but have enough grants for next year as
well. The money pays for the Day Camps as well as the Residential
camp. |
| If anyone wants to be involved next year, please send
me your e-mail address and I'll contact you when we start meetings for
2009. (michandr@sarmc.org). |
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Review
of Annual PFT & Exercise Testing Symposium
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Carl Rizzo RRT/RPFT/AE-c
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| The 15th annual Pulmonary Function
and Exercise Testing Symposium was recently held in Anaheim California.
Pulmonary specialists Christopher B Cooper, MD, Thomas Storer, PhD, Eric
C Kleerup, MD, and Steven E Levy, MD presented information and demonstrations. |
| The information presented included
Pulmonary Function testing technique, criteria, and interpretation techniques.
Also presented were exercise testing techniques, and interpretation techniques. |
| Diagnostics included many aspects
of testing to include simple spirometry, most commonly used, and covered
other topics such as airway mechanics, ventilatory control studies, shunt
studies and high altitude simulation tests. Also included were Maximal
Incremental tests such as invasive, non-invasive, myopathy protocols, and
exercise induced asthma studies. Functional tests such as Six Minute Walk
Tests, Treadmill Endurance and Oxygen Titration studies were also covered. |
| The conference was set outside
Disneyland in California which promoted a relaxed atmosphere when not participating
in the conference. This educational experience was enjoyed and experienced
by many participants from Wa., Cal., Or. Id., Ms. Az., and other states.
This was a very educational conference with experienced staff from David
Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and El Camino College, Torrance California. |
| Cardinal Health presented their
latest Pulmonary Function testing and Exercising testing equipment and
software for use during this conference. |
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ISRC
Conference 2008
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Tom
Gable
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| President Brandi Johnson planned, organized and then
orchestrated this year's Annual Conference in Boise. The results were very
impressive. |
| The two-day meeting had a nice mix of national and local
speakers. There was a little something for everyone in the array of topics.
The lecture room on the second floor of the historic Owyhee Plaza Hotel
was good. The exhibit space down the hall was a little cramped, but that
seemed to work well for getting the attendees close to the vendors’ presentations.
There was a very large turnout of RCPs from around the state. Steve Foord
made the long trip from Sandpoint, as did Carrie Massey from Blackfoot.
A large number of RC students from both BSU and ISU were also in attendance.
I will give a few of my impressions of the content. |
| Dr. David Christensen is a Boise pediatric intensivist
who trained at Loma Linda University in California. With case studies,
he outlined the physiology and pathophysiology of respiratory distress
and the advantages of recruitment maneuvers to achieve an open lung strategy.
The topic was “APRV in Pediatrics”. The message I got was: High frequency
oscillation is an excellent modality for lung recruitment, but when you
do not want to have to paralyze the patient, APRV can also be successful. |
| Brian Walsh, RRT-NPS, is Clinical Research Director at
Children’s Boston Hospital. He is also the current AARC Neonatal-Pediatric
Section Chair. Under that latter hat, Brian gave a thorough description
of the projects, highlights and advances of our national organization.
For me, it is preaching to the choir. Our positions are only as good as
they are because of the continual development of the field by the AARC.
We owe it to ourselves, our profession and our patients to support our
professional organization. |
| Dr. Perry Brown is a pediatrician and a primary player
in the St. Luke’s Cystic Fibrosis Center. He gave a fascinating update
on CF. I know I was amazed that the life expectancy is 37 years. Judy Tietsort
RN, RRT from Colorado is synonymous with RC protocols. She has promulgated
and popularized protocols since the 1980s. Judy gave a plea for greater
utilization. The ideal situation for RC practitioners would be a physician’s
order that stated “assess and treat”. This is possible with RC protocols.
Dr. Jim Souza is a pulmonologist/critical care specialist in Boise/Meridian
(he’s also my medical director). He presented three fascinating case studies
where a respiratory therapist had come up with a diagnosis in a peculiar
case (abdominal compartment syndrome, bronchopleural fistula and methemoglobinemia). |
| The highlight of the program for me was Dr. Forrest Bird.
Alvin Barach may have been the “father” of respiratory (inhalation) therapy,
but men like Forrest Bird, Don Bennett and Hurley Motley truly refined
the theories and especially the technology that have blossomed into the
field we have today. Dr. Bird’s historic description of the development
of the magnetic “Bird machine valve” was particularly fascinating to me.
Dr. Bird hasn’t stopped thinking and tinkering. His intrapulmonary percussive
ventilator is the latest in a long line of imaginative solutions to the
mechanical treatment of lung disorders. Dr. Bird lives near Sandpoint on
an expansive estate bordering Lake Pend Oreille and is a lifetime honorary
AARC/ISRC member. |
| Conference day two had an eclectic array of speakers
and topics. Local Dr. Mark Rasmus gave an overview of sleep medicine. Mark
Siobal, an RCP from San Francisco, presented data on the controversy of
the abolition of hypoxic drive in lung disease patients. A portion of the
CO2 retention seen with oxygen administration is fairly straightforward
chemistry relating to the “Haldane effect”. Frank Rando from Homeland Security
presented his very long diatribe on mass casualty scenarios (the same talk
given a few months earlier at the Lung Association meeting. I took a nap).
Much more fascinating to me was Brian Walsh’s second presentation on measuring
the acidity of exhaled breath condensate. The most entertaining presentation
was the last. Brian Daniel, a researcher at the famous Cardiovascular Research
Institute in San Francisco and professor at Skyline College, prefaced his
presentation on secretion clearance in CF with a rap CD performed by his
RT students that addressed all the salient clearance techniques. It was
a fitting windup to a very impressive and productive meeting. |
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Photo
Gallery
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Tom
Gable
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President Brandi Johnson
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2008 ISRC Annual Conference
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Annual Conference Exhibit Hall
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Dr. Forrest Bird
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Conference Moderator and ISRC Medical Director
Dr. Nirmal Charan
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Rob DeVinaspre and Past President Michele Andrew
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Boston's Brian Walsh and President Brandi Johnson
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Dr. Forrest Bird and John Morgan
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President-elect George Pletcher and Rebecca Brollier
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Dr. Forrest Bird and Treasurer Carrie Massey
Photo by Rob DeVinaspre
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2008 Montana - Board Member Dana Hagestad and
his Big Bull
Photo by Dana Hagestad
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Annual
Business Meeting
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September
12, 2008
Boise
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| Members Present: Carrie Massey, Michele Andrew,
Brandi Johnson, Dixie Durham, Mark Wood, Lande Lambert, Kelly Dwello, Steven
Schaal, Michael Allen, Leonard Nolt, Brian Walsh, George Pletcher, Heather
VanOrden, Tom Gable, Ramona Sailor, Elena Ilyusha. |
| Brandi called the meeting to order. |
| Last meeting minutes were read and approved. |
| Treasurer’s Report: Carrie read the Financial
Report for the third quarter. |
| Committee Reports: |
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Delegate’s Report: HOD Report to ISRC Board, September
11, 2008, Kelly Dwello
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HOD Officer Reports:
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Past Speaker’s report included Resolution Tracking report.
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HR 94-07-24 request AARC to set up a discussion blog
for the purpose of posting important information to submitted resolutions
in advance of HOD meetings was postponed by executive office to consider
capabilities of current IT systems. New Executive Director of IT
operations, Steve Nelson, will review existing technology and make suggestions
regarding future options. Tabled
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HR 94-06-19 requested AARC to develop process for affiliates
to have option of on-line voting for state elections. AARC contracts
with company VoteNet and can obtain 25 additional accounts by paying $9000
for license. States would have to pay small $10-$150 set up fee.
Closed
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HR 04-07-23 HOD request to receive AARC Budget on first day
of Fall HOD meeting is still OPEN.
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HR 94-07-24 HOD request that AARC develop list of competencies
and equipment for RT Departments to use as guidelines in order to prepare
for pandemic or mass casualty situations. OPEN
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HR 00-05-17 requesting that AARC recommend to the Veteran
Health Admin. that they amend their qualification guidelines to state that
they should meet the licensure requirements of a particular state. Closed.
VA will not consider request as it would find it difficult to modify its
qualifications based on 48 different state statutes.
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HR 16-04-14. request for AARC to offer 2-3 year membership
plans was closed.
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HR 572003-28. Resolution to change the revenue sharing model
remains open.
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New Resolution Activity:
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HR 16-08-01. That the AARC indicate on the membership
report whether member has provided an email address, whether they opt to
share address and whether address is active. ISRC vote No, Resolution
passed by majority.
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HR 44-08-02. That AARC CRCE application process and membership
transcript be modified to breakout the hours devoted to specific course
content to assist state licensure boards requiring same. ISRC vote. Yes,
Resolution passed by majority.
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HR 06-08-03 That AARC increase membership dues by $5.
ISRC vote Yes, Resolution failed by majority.
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HR 22-08-04 that AARC create AdHoc committee to investigate
the feasibility of creating AARC student leadership initiative. ISRC
vote Yes, Resolution passed by e-vote majority.
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HR 29-08-05 that AARC engage NBRC in discussion to reduce
cost of Registry exam to encourage candidate participation. ISRC
vote Yes, Resolution passed by majority. BOD response: willing to
act, referred to AARC President to engage discussion w/NBRC to report
on cost structure.
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Treasurer’s Report: Audit of AARC Budget operations
found no recommendations. Suggestions made that State Affiliates
should have their financial operations audited annually or bi-annually.
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Executive Office Report: Membership this spring had
highest numbers ever as we passed 47,000 members. By June 27, 2008
membership dropped to just over 46,000 members. Bulk Membership Coupons
purchases tracking on par with 2007. 94% are purchased by state affiliates.
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Online Education:
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As of June 17th, 13000 CRCE awarded. Professor Rounds/Webcasts
are nearing completion. New agreement with Horizon Wimba now allows
seating for 2000 per web cast compared to 100 seats before and at a lower
cost.
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Asthma Certification Prep Course has been in operation for
five years. Pass rate for participants of AARC courses are in upper 80th
percentile compared to overall pass rate of 65%.
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Aerosol Guidance Book for Respiratory Therapists to date
has seen request for 187,000 downloads. Currently translating into
Spanish and Arabic.
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COPD Foundation’s Mobile Screening Unit (MSU) was on the
road to Seattle, Raleigh, and Miami Columbus, OH and Washington, DC.
Will be in Anaheim for Congress.
AARC Times June 2008 issue dedicated to salute Senators
Crapo and Lincoln regarding S.2704, the Medicare Respiratory Care initiative.
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Projects on-going:
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Peak Performance (information for elementary and middle schools
about asthma), Reimbursement College I & II, Benchmarking
(June 123 members)
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Governmental Affairs report included up to the minute reporting
of the activities surrounding HR 3968 & S 2704 with announcement of
passage, presidential veto and House and Senate over-ride votes all while
HOD in session. There was cause for celebration by the HOD and all
of AARC at the meeting. HR 552/ S 329 CMS coverage for Cardiac and
Pulmonary Rehabilitation was discussed and has since passed Congress and
President as its provisions were placed in the Senate Medicare package
that passed. HR 1108/ S 625. The Family Smoking Prevention
and Tobacco Control Act as of April finally got out of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee and now is in negotiations in House and Senate to
work out differences between the two bills. Hopeful for enactment
this year.
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Nursing Home Ventilator Standards: AARC will approach
CMS to request that the standards recently approved by Tennessee for ventilator
care in nursing homes be adopted as “good practice” for all Medicaid state
programs.
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International Committee spoke about the success of the International
Fellowships Program. As of June 10 they received 46 applicants from
24 different countries. HOD put out a challenge to state affiliates
to match a $100 donation to the ARCF to help cover the $5000 of one fellowship.
Does ISRC want to meet that challenge? Board voted yes. $100.00 will
be sent in by Carrie.
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PACT Report: Con Colby and Renie Johnson (Lopez) not present.
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Election Committee: Here are the results for 2008 election.
These positions start Jan 1, 2009. Due to the vacant spot for President
(Nikki Stephens) a President needed to be appointed for 2009. George Pletcher
was the new President-elect and the Board voted to have him come up to
the President’s position due to his experience. There are some issues with
the position of President-elect for next year and this needs to be addressed.
We may not be able to appoint Michael Allen until Jan 2009. As of
right now, (and should not change), George Pletcher is the President-elect
filling the vacant position and will assume the position of President in
2009.
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President: George Pletcher
President Elect: Michael Allen. (Possibly vacant at this
time)
Vice President: Mark Wood
Secretary: Mendy Burns
Treasurer: Carrie Massey
Director At Large: Michele Andrew
Delegate: Kelly Dwello
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Emergency Prepardness: There was a lot of information presented
by the speakers at the ISRC conference. Lande did not feel that any more
info was needed.
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| New Business: |
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Carrie Massey and Kelly Dwello will go to the AARC Annual
Conference and hopefully they will be able to bring back any new info that
may be helpful to Idaho. Will either of you be there during the AARC
business meeting?
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Next year's ISRC conference will be discussed in November
and January.
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| Next Meeting will be held in November in Twin Falls. |
| Meeting adjourned. |
| Respectfully Submitted, Elena Ilyusha, RRT, ISRC Secretary |
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Need Respiratory
Care Professionals?
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2008
ISRC Board of Directors
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Brandi Johnson (Boise), President
George Pletcher (Meridian),
President elect
Michele Andrew (Boise), Past
President
T. J. Wing (Boise), Vice
President
Elena Ilyusha (Boise), Secretary
Carrie Massey (Idaho Falls),
Treasurer |
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Ramona Sailor (Twin Falls),
Delegate
Kelly Dwello (Boise), Delegate
Dana Hagestad (Lewiston), Director
at Large
Steve Schaal (Rupert), Director
at Large
Dr. Nirmal Charan (Boise), Medical
Director
Heather VanOrden (Pocatello),
Student
Representative |
Visit http://www.idasrc.org/contact_us.htm
to contact a Board Member.
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The Mountain Air newsletter
editor is Tom Gable. If you would like to contribute information/articles,
please contact Tom by e-mail:gablet@slrmc.org,
or fax (208) 381-3498.
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