Location October 4th, 2006 - Mahoney State Park Call to Order Meeting called to order by President John Wright at 11:00 A.M. Agenda was presented by John. Roll Call Members Present: - John Wright, President
- Bruce Campbell, President Elect
- Candy Ryan, Vice President Elect
- Mike Twait, Secretary
- Jeff Gonzalez, Delegate
- Jenny Bush, Delegate
- Frank Freihaut, Board of Directors
- Keith Luedders, Board of Directors
- Marcy Wyrens, Visitor
Absent: - Jane Matsui, Past President
- Elisha Pueppka, Vice President
- Gil Smith, Treasurer
- Bill Bonner, Board of Directors
- Shannon Zinnel, Membership Committee Chair
- Megan Lofgren, Nominations/Elections Chair
- Chris Hamilton, Publications Chair
PREP COMMITTEE: Jeff discussed that the PREP Committee that the final PREP report should be out in a couple of months. Marcy also mentioned that other public attendee's and original members have also attended these meetings included some of the original Board members from 1986. Nebraska's original Practice Act was created in 1986. Issues associated with having an outdated Practice Act included how will the NSRC Board move forward to make these changes in updating our Practice Act and also how to incorporate the additional changes needing to be made regarding the sleep & Perfusionist topics. Frank discussed that the timing with the Perfusionists could be a key factor. Another factor is that the Perfusionist's, being a smaller group, have asked us if we would oppose them becoming a member of our Board if Rules & Regulations would deem it necessary to become part of our State Board for Respiratory Care. Marcy discussed that back in 1983 when Nebraska was investigating in becoming Licensured for Respiratory Care that the Board members created the Practice Act in the broadest sense to lessen the potential for future issues. Marcy stated that our Practice Act in its present form is outdated. In addition, current issues not addressed by the Practice Act that need to be clarified but not limited to include: the Perfusionsist's group coming forward, the issue with moderate sedation not being covered, and the huge issue with the DME's not needing a Medical director to operate but the Respiratory Therapists that work for these DME companies are required to work under a Medical Director per our Practice Act. Marcy described that the PREP Committee process came out of the Nebraska Credentialing Reform which was started back in 2000. This reform was started to completely change the way healthcare legislation is implemented. This review process of Licensures & Regulations is in the Nebraska state statures and will continue to be performed. Every profession in Nebraska will have to go thru this process. Frank stated that one thing we'll be fighting against will be the balancing act between the issues of Access to Care & the tight scope of practice so that we don't limit ourselves. Senators could see this Access to Care as an issue if we don't word the Act correctly and to properly grandfather those in for what is current happening now. John voiced concerns with the risks of opening up our Practice Act, the timing with the Perfusionists & the current Legislature change. Bruce questioned the timeline for the 407 process for the Perfusionists. Marcy stated that the 407 process is currently on-going and that the Perfusionist's should be done with this process by November. On December 11th they'll more than likely have the public approval to move forward with their licensure. The Perfusionist's will then meet with the Board of Health for their approval. From there they'll meet with the Director of the Department for their final approval. These three pieces have to happen after the public gives their approval for licensure. From there the Perfusionist's will need to find a senator to take it forward in the legislature. Marcy stated that the new Health & Human Services chair will make a huge difference with what we do and that the Physician lobbyists group will also be a contributing factor. Marcy discussed that once this Uniform Licensure statue takes affect that it will open up our law for us; making this a good time with the recommendations of the PREP Committee to clean up the parts of the Practice Act Marcy further discussed that the PREP recommendations will be coming out with other recommendations such as but not limited to: the number of required hours practiced to maintain your license, Medical Directors issue, & required testing for therapists regarding the understanding of our practice act. Also, that the NSRC has to be the driving force in developing & defining a group of interested members to see these changes of our Practice Act thru. Marcy stated that that the Licensure Board can only advise the NSRC but can not assist in seeing this thru. John made a motion to move this forward. The motion is to look at these other state licensures, set a goal, and reconvene before the next Board meeting scheduled for February 3rd. Candy seconded the motion, the motion passed. Jenny mentioned to divide up the states and look at two other states practice acts besides NY, the Board members agreed. The four other Board members currently not here can pick any remaining states to review their practice acts. Marcy stated that we should review the following in the practice acts: the Scope of Practice, what are the Limitations, and do they have a tiered system. PAC Frank discussed the 435 initative stating that he met with the better breathers group from the Heartland Health Rehab here in Omaha. After the meeting Frank stated that he had three of the members active / interested in becoming patient advocates for follow thru in regarding to contacting Lee Terry. Frank gave the three members the local & Washington addresses & phone numbers for contacting their Senators. Stating that the members would be better off to email or call their Senators rather than mailing them due to the huge lag time for the mail system in Washington. Frank also discussed that the group did not know about the 36 month bill regarding the issues of owning of their oxygen equipment and the potential cost of preventative maintenance of the equipment. Frank further mentioned that there is bill currently in the House & Senate to repeal that law regarding the patient owning their equipment. Frank also discussed the Rehab Consolidation issue. The bill would standardize the reimbursements for the all states. Currently, reimbursements are paid out differently from state to state. UPDATES John discussed updates regarding our last Board meeting on September 29th. John stated that Gil renewed the money market account CD for another 6 months. Next, John discussed the update with the combined state meeting issue. John stated that the South Dakota Board was split similar to ours and that they we're still interested but they voted the initiative down. John further stated that South Dakota's largest issues for voting the initiative down regarded access for CEU's for their western therapists and finances. In the future we can think about possibly reforming a committee to look into having a combined state meeting for the year 2009 when the meeting is scheduled to be back in Sioux Falls, SD. Jenny discussed the updated disaster plan. A group from State named the Center for Bio Preparedness has symposiums that therapists across the state can attend starting in March of next year. They also offer certification in Basic Disaster Life Support. The lectures series do heighten the awareness of what a therapist might see from these various agents and chemicals. Jenny stated that her goal is to make our voice known, generate some interest, and develop across the state a team that could provide resources for such an event. The meeting was adjourned at 1235 Respectfully submitted by Mike Twait, NSRC Secretary
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