Our website is a great resource for everyone.  Please check it out.  We have had compliments from out-of-staters on our site.  There is a number of ways to become involved so please let me know if you would like to help out.  There are committees that could always use fresh ideas. 

Our annual conference will be held in Twin Falls this year with Ramona Sailor as chairperson.  Please contact Ramona if you would like to help out or have any special topics or speakers that you would like to have present at the conference.  Speakers can be hard to book so please let her know ASAP.   Since I will be serving as President, I am looking for someone to take over the editor duties for this newsletter.  If anyone is interested, PLEASE let me know.  I have been able to get three issues out per year so it isn't too time consuming. 

I am looking forward to serving this year and hope to meet a lot of you. 
Nancy

Note:  Contributions can be made to Nancy Roberts, President.

Kevin is a 1977 graduate of the Boise State University respiratory care program.  He worked at St. Alphonsus from 1977 to 1984 as the 3-11 Shift Supervisor.  In 1984, he joined the Norco team.  Kevin and his family own a vacation home in McCall; so he plays a lot of golf and also enjoys skiing and snowmobiling in the winter.  Kevin is married and has four children.  Two boys from a previous marriage who are 19 and 17 years old, and two from his current marriage; a 5-year-old daughter and 3½-year-old son. 

Kevin is very proud of the fact that ALL of the respiratory therapists who work at Norco are members of the AARC/ISRC.

SEE THANK YOU LETTER TO ISRC ABOUT KEVIN & NORCO'S RECENT HELP FOR A SPECIAL CHILD THIS SEASON.

Please recruit any kids with asthma between the ages of 9 and 13 (8 is OK if they have been away from home before).  We can get camperships for most of the kids.  Tuition is $200 for those who can pay.  Camperships can be donated to the American Lung Association so have your hospitals donate some as well--or sponsor some of the kids you see in peds and ED. 

Brochures have been mailed to most of the hospital departments in Idaho and both brochures and posters to key people who helped last year.  If you need more, contact Michele Andrew.  For more information, call Michele Andrew at 367-3199 (e-mail : michandr@sarmc.org) or Paula Bermudo at the American Lung Association. 

In preparation for the Summit, each health district is having a forum.  Data collected from the forum will be used in the information gathering process at the Summit.  Please contact your health district office and volunteer to participate in the forum.  Respiratory care needs to be visible in this endeavor - not just nurses and state employees.  Cindy Kowitz, Chris Holmes, and Michele Andrew are the only therapists on the ACI planning committee.  For more information, contact Michele Andrew at 367-3199 or e-mail at michandr@sarmc.org or Jean Woodward at 334-5544.

Members Present:  Lande Lambert, Steve Schaal, Connie Leavitt, Conrad Colby, Tom Gable, Nola Darling, Leslie Mulder, Duke Richardson, David Blakeman, Ramona Sailor,  Jan Ford, Nancy Roberts, Rob Devinespre.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.

The meeting scheduled for noon time at the conference in Idaho Falls, was postponed until after the conference.  The speakers went over their time limit.  The meeting was then cancelled because there was not a quorum in the afternoon.  The elections of officers were as follows:  President-elect, David Blakeman; Vice-President, Rob Devinispre; Director, Carmen Griggs; Delegate, Renie Johnson.  Nancy Roberts, the incoming President will appoint a student representative. 

Treasurer's Report:
See attached.  Duke reported that we only need $5,000-$6,000 in the checking; the rest could be invested somewhere. Rob and Duke will look into doing this.  It is customary to give a monetary gift to the program chairs for all their hard work;  David requested that his be put towards Camp Super Breathers.

Committee Reports:

• Web site – In answer to a question by David, Lande stated that live chat rooms for the meetings can be set up with the necessary equipment.  A task force consisting of Rob, Connie, David, Jan, Duke, and Steve will decide on:  answers to Pam Lambert's questions regarding what to include on the web site, look at what to do about a webmaster, and see about purchasing a laptop for use at the meetings.  Lande will look into having the ISRC pay for the internet access on a yearly basis.
• PACT – Con stated that each state society has been given a charge to complete.  Con will put this information on the ISRC web site.  Next year's PACT meeting will be in Washington D.C., to enable the delegates to meet with the legislators.
• Membership – Nationally, membership is down.  There were 12 states that had an increase of members, and Idaho was one of them.  Several ideas were discussed to help with recruitment and retention.  Nola volunteered to draft a letter to send to the members whose membership was due to be renewed asking them to please renew and telling them the benefits of membership.
• Conference – The Idaho Falls conference was a big success, not only in terms of speakers and attendance, but financially as sell.  See attached.  David stated that eastern Idaho would like to put another one on again in a few years.  The plan is to have two half-day sessions with a barbeque/party the afternoon of the first day.
• Delegates report – Nola went through the report that is attached.  A question was raised that several therapists had been told that the tobacco money for smoking cessation programs was out of money until January 1, 2002.  Con will check on this and put a report on the web site.
• Newsletter – Nancy reported that no advertising money has come in.  The ISRC pays the whole bill, which amounts to about $100 per issue.  Rob will check with Norco and David will check with eastern Idaho companies to see about getting advertising for the newsletter.  Nancy will pick someone at random for the RT Spotlight article.  If she doesn't get any suggestions on articles to put into the newsletter, she just picks something from RT sources.  Nancy, you're doing a great job!
• Legislation– The LMRP (Local Medical Review Policy) has been written.  Now we need a doctor to help push this through the fiscal intermediary.  Connie has the names of several doctors who might help.
• Camp Super Breathers – Next year the camp will be August 5-9 at the Methodist camp located above Fairfield on the South Fork of the Boise River.  Due to the location, different hiking opportunities will be needed.  There is still discussion going on about how much money each camper will need to pay.  This will be put on the web site.

• Conference wrap-up –  The AARC President's fee for coming here still needs settled.  Duke, Connie, and David will address this.
• International Fellows – Dr. Yutaka Tokunaga will be flying into Boise on November 17.  If anyone would like to go and help greet him, his flight arrives at 1549.  Meet at the baggage claim area.  Nola has the agenda for his visit; if anyone would like it, contact and she will e-mail it to you.  On November 19 there will be a social get together at the Burger N' Brew on Fairview at 5:30 PM.  He will have a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with Nola and her family.  On Saturday, an outing possibly to the mountains is being planned.  He flies out on Sunday for Michigan.

• Next year's conference site will be in Twin Falls.  Ramona will be conference chair.
• State Board of Medicine has an opening for a Respiratory Therapist.  Lande will find out who is leaving.  The person selected will need to be from the same geographical location as the person leaving and cannot be an ISRC board member.
• October is designated as COPD Awareness Month.  Sample proclamations are available from the AARC.  Jonathan Glenn from the governor's office is the contact person.  Nancy will be appointing someone to do this for next year.
• There were no resolutions to go over.
• Con reported that the Coalition for a Healthy Idaho will have the ISRC on their letterhead.  Jan and Leslie volunteered to go to the meetings.  The ISRC will be asked to contact their legislators about no smoking issues.  Con will put the meeting times on the web site.  On November 14-15 the legislators will be discussing the tobacco money and its allocations.
• The American Lung Association is planning a spring conference in the Boise area next Spring.  No date has been set yet.  The theme will be about children.  The ISRC can have input into what it would like to see covered.
• The Disaster Medical Assistant Team is asking for volunteers.  Contact Lande for the forms if you are interested.
• David is looking to taping the teleconference the Army is putting on about biochemical information and can have copies made for others if there are no copyrights on it.

• BSU has closed its entry-level Respiratory Therapy program as soon as the last two sophomores graduate.  It will still maintain its 3- and 4-year program.  David has contacted Itech about starting a Respiratory Therapy program in Eastern Idaho.  An issue that has come up is how to get the graduating students out of the Boise area and into other areas of the state that need them.  BSU is looking at having them do some clinical rotations in other parts of the state.  St. Joseph's in Lewiston does this for the Spokane school and pays the students some board.
• Con has been appointed ot the AARC Ethics Committee.  This is an ad hoc committee formed by the AARC president.
• Connie and Steve both stated how proud they are of the Respiratory Therapists in the State of Idaho.  They are hard working, dedicated patient advocates.  The ISRC is in the black, and we have a growing membership.  Steve also thanked Connie for all her hard work.
• Duke reported on some Washington state issues.  They are financially struggling.  They lost money on their conference, and membership is dropping.  Several incidents of fraud and abuse have been turned into the authorities.

The meeting was adjourned. 

Respectfully submitted,

Ramona Sailor
ISRC Secretary Elect