Watch your mail for the registration forms, but you can also get information from ReNae Palmer, ISRC Treasurer, at 760 N Crimson Drive, Idaho Falls, ID 83401 (208-529-6190 or raja536@msn.com).

The educational program highlights these topics:

• Second-hand Smoke & Effects on Infants and Children
• Millennium Fund & Coalition for Healthy Idaho
• Community Based Asthma Management
• Hyperbaric Medicine
• MSRA
• Liberating the Ventilator
• Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome
• Investment & Return in Respiratory Care

T-shirts are also available and can be ordered with the conference registration that will be distributed soon.

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Ride Horses and Listen to the Elk Bugle in the Mountains of Island Park, Idaho. During the mating season of the elk, which is in the fall, the outfitters and guides from the Harriman Ranch, take guests back into the secluded, non motorized vehicle, mountains of Eastern Idaho, to listen to the elk bugle. After a short but comprehensive lesson on the essentials of horseback riding, guests are matched with horses.  The guides and guests then head for the high country.  In most cases, the elk do not start to bugle until late in the afternoon or early evening.

I  =  Identity – You know who you are, do others?  Let them know who you are.  You are an expert in Cardio-Respiratory Therapy.  As you go to see each of your patients let them know why you are there and what you will do for them.
M = Motives – This is what drives everything.  Keep motivated.  You have been trained to care for your patients.  Keep yourself educated on the current trends in Respiratory Therapy.
A = Action – Take the kind of actions that will promote our profession.  Be a part of patient care.  Use the education you have gained to help your patients to remain healthy. 
G = Growth – Continue to learn.  Attend your state Society Conference September 11-12, 2003. 
E = Expectations – Set goals for yourself.  What do you want to accomplish as a Respiratory Therapist? 

As of the end of the Spring 2003 semester, Dr. Colby has retired from his position as Director of the Boise State University Respiratory Care Program.  His organizational excellence, his pervading interest in all aspects of respiratory care, medicine and medical ethics and his always helpful attitude will be missed by his fellow staffers and friends.  A multitude of former students and coworkers salute you and your decision to end your formal academic career. I know you will continue to be there to work with the ISRC and the other organizations you support. Congratulations on an outstanding career.

Lonny Ashworth (BSU RC Department Chair) and Uwe Reischl (Director of the Center for Health Policy at BSU) have been awarded a Faculty Research Grant. They will be working with Nirmal Charan, a pulmonologist at the Boise Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center.  The one-year research program is designed to assess the accuracy of Automatic Tube Compensation (ATC) algorithms featured in mechanical ventilator systems and currently featured on the latest generation of ventilators. The Grant will allow acquisition of additional equipment necessary for the lab.  In addition, it includes funds to hire a student research assistant, which will allow a Respiratory Care student to be involved with the research. The Center for Health Policy will provide additional funds in support of this project.

President Elect Nolan Bybee called the meeting to order.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

Treasurer’s report: No report.  Con submitted a bill for the lawyer fees for reviewing the Polysomnography/Respiratory Therapy licensure bill. 

PACT: Con encouraged all to contact their congressmen to get them to support legislation to get Medicare reimbursement for respiratory therapy in home care.  Patient’s, DME,s and Home Care people are also encouraged to contact them.  There is a link on the ISRC web site to access Capital Connection to help facilitate this.  The legislature will be considering this issue soon, so they need to be contacted right away.

Committee Reports:

• Membership:  We will need a new chair of this section.  Nolan asked for anyone interested to contact him. 
• Delegates:  No Report
• Newsletter:  This will be coming out soon.
• Nominations:  Nancy Roberts has agreed to chair this for this year.
• Bylaws:  Tom stated that the bylaws specify having a student member.  The BSU faculty will recommend someone and the board is to approve it.  Nolan will e-mail the board when he gets a name.

Nolan went to the State Society Presidents workshop. He reports that they are pushing the ambassador program.  This is for members to sign up new members and get recognized for it.  The AARC is working on some new PR.

New Business:

• David Blakeman has resigned from the ISRC president position due to work issues.  Nolan Bybee will be stepping into the President’s spot 
• Coalition for a Healthy Idaho:  A motion was passed to have Rob be our representative and to send $100.00 to them for membership dues.  Rob will fill out the application and send it in with the money.
• Fall Conference: This will be Sept. 11-12 at the Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls.  Brochures will be sent out the middle of June.
• International Fellow: Con has a person who may be interested in heading this up for this year.  June 30 is the application deadline.
• On July 2, Eastern Idaho RMC will be having a transport ventilator workshop.  Several different kinds of transport vents will be there to look at.  A mailing to all department heads will be sent out.
• There was a lengthy discussion on board members accountability.  Several ideas were: Board membership may require you to do some traveling.  The location of the meetings may not always be to the best of everyone’s ability to get there.  If you are unable to fulfill your duties let the president know as soon as possible, so a replacement can be found.
• A motion was passed to have the ISRC pay for Dr. Nirmal Charan’s AARC membership. 
• Jody Lester did a fantastic job with the Polysomnography/Respiratory Therapy licensure bill.  She will be recognized in a newsletter and at the fall conference.
• The ISRC website has been asked to run out of state job offers.  It was decided to have the president review them on a case by case basis. They will run for 60 days, at which time the contact person can request a continuation for another 60 days.

Respectfully submitted,

Ramona Sailor
ISRC Secretary

The two representatives from the law firm initially called a small group of us together to discuss some points of major concern.  Jody diplomatically made her views known while keeping in mind the importance of striving for a win-win result if possible.  After that meeting, Jody met with law firm representatives eight to ten times and exchanged numerous comments by email.  With each meeting Jody thoughtfully expressed a viewpoint that was fair to both parties.   Negotiations were complex and exacting due to the requirement of finding exact words, and phrases, conveying concise meaning.  The necessity of many slightly different versions increased the challenge to ensure no critical omission or substitutions occurred. 

At last, the “final” draft was ready for presentation to a representative group.  Present were six or so polysomnographers, the executive and associate directors for the Idaho Board of Medicine (Nancy Kerr, and Mary Leonard), Lande Lambert, representing the Respiratory Therapy Licensure Board, the representatives from the law firm, the attorney for the Idaho Board of Medicine (Cathleen Morgan), one or two others, and I gathered and waited for the meeting to begin.  Jody had not arrived.  Five minutes passed and we all chatted thinking Jody will soon arrive.  After 10 to 15 minutes and “no Jody”, I made a call to her at her office.  It turned out, Jody was not notified of the meeting, and she had scheduled a house closing at the same time.  Jody quickly said to me, “I trust you to represent the situation at the meeting, unless you want me to be there.”  Without any hesitation, I said, “Jody, can you get here now?”  Graciously, Jody agreed to drive directly to the meeting, and gave up the signing of the house closing.  At the meeting Jody’s voice was invaluable.  She was direct and insightful, standing firm for the reasonable protection of our scope of practice.  If she had not been able to attend the meeting, the proposed legislation might not have contained the appropriate standards and conditions that were ultimately passed by the Idaho Legislature and signed by the Governor.  Many thanks and much appreciation goes to Jody for the tremendous job she performed so well.