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NEBRASKA SOCIETY FOR RESPIRATORY CARE BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING Unapproved Condensed Version September 14, 2007 York Memorial Hospital, York, NE The meeting was called to order by President Bruce Campbell at 1:10 P.M. The agenda was presented and reviewed by Bruce. ROLL CALL - MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Campbell, President Darcy O’Brien-Genrich, President Elect Candy Ryan, Vice President Mike Twait, Secretary Dave Patterson, Treasurer Bill Bonner, Board of Directors Tim Kelly, Board of Directors Sheri Trindle, Publications Chair Absent: John Wright, Past President Jill Sand, Vice President Elect Jeff Gonzalez, Delegate Jenny Bush, Delegate Keith Luedders, Board of Directors Shannon Zinnel, Membership Committee Chair Christie Lebsack, Election Chair Megan Lofgren, Nominations Chair Kathy Geier-Craft, Public Relations Chair Jane Matsui, Summit Award Chair MINUTES: Mike reported. The minutes from the May 25th, 2007 BOD meetings were reviewed by the BOD. Darcy made a motion to approve the May 25th minutes, motion was seconded by Dave, motion passed. Treasures Report Dave stated that there have been no major changes regarding our account balance; adding that he has been paying bills as he receives them. Dave mentioned that most of the bills composed of the airfare for the Delegates, Jeff and Jenny. Bruce made a motion to accept the treasurer’s report, the motion was seconded by Mike, motion passed. Program Committee Candy stated that the site for the 2008 state conference in May will be held at Divots Conference Center in Norfolk. The conference is tentatively scheduled to be held the 14th, 15th, & 16th of May. Candy mentioned that she has continued to work on scheduling both the speakers and vendors for the conference. Candy states that she was able to have Dr. Brandt, CT surgeon from Norfolk, commit to be one of the speakers. Candy also mentioned that she and Bruce have also been working on an invitation letter that they will be sending to Toni Rodriguez, current president of the AARC, to invite her to the State Conference and if she would also be interested in being the key note speaker for the conference. Candy stated that she is also working with Kory Kruger, Operations Director for Sleep at Alegent Health, to see if he would commit to giving a lecture on the topic of sleep. Candy discussed scheduling the sleep lecture for Friday morning, this would allow her to schedule two separate 4 hour lectures for therapists to choose from. Tim suggested that Candy move the sleep lecture to Thursday instead; adding that Thursday would be greater opportunity for therapists to attend. Bruce asked Candy make a motion regarding the sleep lecture. Candy made a motion that we add a 4 hour lecture on the topic of sleep for the upcoming state conference, motion was seconded by Tim, motion passed. Candy stated that she had also received a request from one of the vendors to inquire about opening the vendor hall to just RT managers; allowing the vendors to spend more time with the managers. Candy discussed the possibility of having the RT managers visit the vendor hall for an hour our so on Wednesday evening. Then have the vendor hall open to everyone Thursday morning. Bruce suggested contacting all the vendors to see if this is something they would all be interested in. Bill added that he would not want this manager vendor time to interfere with any of conference the events which might be scheduled for that Wednesday evening. Candy also discussed the possibly having all the RT managers from across Nebraska met together during the state conference. Candy suggested that perhaps the board could sponsor a separate RT managers meeting some time during the conference or possibly having the managers meeting in conjunction with our BOD meeting on Wednesday morning. Bruce recommended placing this topic on hold for now, stating that he had similar ideas on this topic to discuss later. Bill inquired if we were going to teleconference the state meeting. Bruce discussed that we would not be physically able to teleconference the meeting. Stating that currently there are no off site facilities, besides hospitals, that have the capabilities for teleconferencing. Candy discussed the topic of possibly using designated cities or convention sites that we would contract with for future State meetings. Candy added that by having a contract for future sites may allow us to receive better pricing and would allow for less behind the scene work for the VP to do. Bruce requested that Candy make a motion regarding this topic. Candy made a motion that the board contact with a couple of conference sites in which we would alternate the sites each year; the motion was seconded by Bill. Tim stated that he did not want the BOD to be locked into any specific site; adding that if a facility does not meet our needs then we can move the conference to a different site and not have to worry about being locked into a contract. Tim inquired what the possible cost savings might be when contracting with facilities. Candy stated that she didn’t know what the possible savings or deals might be. However, when utilizing contract with facilities usually prevents them from raising their rates year to year or having to re-negotiate again. Bill mentioned that potentially some of these answers might be found after our next state meeting in Norfolk. Adding that we will have to wait and see how many people attend the meeting, one factor being that it is a renewal period and another factor being the State Conference being at a different site. Bruce called for the vote on Candy’s motion, the motion failed. Membership committee Shannon not present. Bruce discussed the membership numbers from the previous 4 months: May we had 456 active and 62 inactive licensed therapists, June there were 455 active and 65 inactive licensed therapists, July there were 450 active and 56 inactive therapists, and in August there were 475 active and 22 inactive licensed therapists. Bruce also mentioned that the vouchers also had not been selling very well. Bruce did state that he give Kathy Geier-Craft a voucher for all her hard work that she had done with the spirometry testing at the State Fair. Candy stated that Shannon had given her a mailing report to pass on to the board regarding the letters that Shannon had sent out to all the RT managers here in Nebraska. The letters were inquiring on whom the current RT manager is, the size of the RT department, and the number of AARC members within the department. Candy stated that Shannon had received 30 letters back out of the total 141 that were sent; with an additional 10 letters that were returned. Candy also discussed that Megan has had little success in recruiting new nominees for the upcoming election. Candy stated that currently Megan has no nominations for any of the positions. Bruce added that the upcoming available BOD positions will be: Secretary, Director of Lincoln, President Elect, Vice President Elect, and Delegate A. Bylaws Bruce discussed that Keith & Jeff had done a lot of hard work with drafting the proposed changes for our bylaws. They had previously sent out an electronic version of the draft bylaws to all board members for their review of the proposed changes and asked for any feedback regarding any modifications. No suggestions were given; Bruce made a motion that the board accepts Jeff’s and Keith’s proposed bylaws as Jenny amended, the motion was seconded by Tim, the motion passed. Publications Sherri reported that Mike Morgan, NSRC Webmaster, has the new NSRC website format and forum both active. Bruce added that the number of hits to our website alone were 344 in June, 322 in July, and 353 in August. Sherri discussed that the forum has had some hits but only a few replies. In addition, that the home page now includes a brief cheat sheet on how users can log onto the forum page and how to add a topic. Sherri mentioned that she has also updated the home page with new articles, discussing the Camp Cool Kids, an asthma camp located in Hastings, is now on the home page which includes pictures from the camp. Sherri also stated that she will soon be adding an article regarding the State Nebraska Fair spirometry testing to the website once she receives the article from Kathy Geier-Craft. Bruce mentioned that he had received an email from Jane Matsui which discussed the teleconference that she and Jenny Bush had been working on. The email stated that the teleconference would be scheduled to be given on Oct 23rd from 0900 to 1300 and listed the following tentative speakers: Dr. Susan Von Essen to lecture on agriculture lung disease, Sandy McGranaghan RPFT to lecture on pulmonary function testing, Jenny Bush to lecture on respiratory case management, and Jane Matusi to lecture on “More Than Hot Air” breathing techniques to improve airway clearance. Bruce stated that Jane and Jenny were targeting all available facilities to use as teleconferencing sites. Jane’s email stated that she proposed that the cost for the teleconference would be free for members and cost $80 dollars for non-members. Public relations Kathy Geier-Craft not present. Bruce stated that he has no report from Kathy; however that she has been working with the State Fair spirometry & Camp Cool Kids. Bruce added that Kathy has also assisted in bring in an International Fellow to Nebraska; with additional information regarding the Fellow’s itinerary dates and dinner to be forth coming. Summit Award Jane not present. Bruce stated that he has no report from Jane however he thought Jane had been receiving topics for this award. Pandemic Disaster Jenny not present. Bruce stated that Jenny has been very active with updating the website and making contacts throughout the state regarding pandemic information. Bruce discussed Jenny’s email that she had sent out to board members asking our permission to donate $250 to $500 dollars to the AARC Disaster Relief Fund. Bruce made a motion that the board vote to approve the $250 dollar donation to the AARC, the motion was seconded by Dave. Bruce discussed that the AARC Disaster Fund is intended to be used for any AARC member who are involved in some type of disaster. Those members involved in a disaster would then receive a $500 non-repayable grant. Dave suggested that we increase the donation amount to $500, that way NSRC would be supporting one AARC member instead of only supporting half a member at the $250 dollar donation. Bruce called for the vote on the motion for donating $250 to the AARC Disaster Fund, motion failed. Dave made a motion to amend Bruce’s original motion and increase the amount to $500 dollars, Tim seconded the motion. Bill suggested that we also add this information regarding the Disaster Relief Fund to our website and include that the NSRC has contributed to this fund. Bruce called for the vote on Dave’s amended motion, motion passed. Dave stated that he will contact Jenny to let her know that the AARC Disaster Fund carried for the amount of $500 dollars PACT Committee Darcy stated that she currently does not have any information to pass on, stating that she has not received a report Delegates Report Jeff and Jenny not present. Bruce inquired if any board members had questions with their delegate report that Jenny had sent out previously to the board; no questions were asked. OLD Business Website activity Sherri stated that she will be contacting all the RT directors in Nebraska. Sherri discussed that she is planning on showcasing RT departments throughout Nebraska by adding information about their department to our NSRC website. Sherri stated that she would email the RT directors specific questions about their department and then would post their responses on the website. Sherri added that she was planning on adding pictures of the RT department on the website as well. Sherri discussed that she would start the showcase with an RT department from western Nebraska first, next choose a department from the eastern side and finally pick a department from central Nebraska; then repeat the rotation. Sherri also mentioned that she was planning on adding information and pictures to our website regarding upcoming classes of RT graduates. Legislative Committee Jeff & Keith not present. Bruce stated that he has not received a report from them. Vouchers Bruce discussed that he had eleven vouchers remaining, which will be expiring at the end of October. Bruce also stated that he has been review the monthly membership reports and has noticed a few NSRC members, who are leaders in their community, that have been one month away from letting their membership lapse. Bruce stated that the majority of members that he has called have renewed their memberships after talking with him. Bruce encouraged all board members to reinforce to NSRC members that the AARC has been very active on the national level in promoting our profession. Bruce discussed that Jeff was in the process of being nominated to the State Government Affairs Committee for the AARC. Bruce stated that he would like to make a motion that upon Jeff’s confirmation of being a member on this committee that the NSRC financially support any expenditures that the AARC would not cover, the motion seconded by Darcy. Bruce added that we try to find out from Jeff which expenditures might not be cover by the AARC; that way we know if the cost would be prohibitive or not. Bruce called for the vote on the motion, motion passed. Scholarship Bruce discussed that Jeff had sent out an email regarding the money account that the Lincoln Pulmonary physicians had set up for the Southeast Community College RT program. Bruce stated that Jeff was asking the board to have the funds go directly to Southeast RT department instead of going to the college. Bruce discussed that the NSRC, being the directing body over the physicians account fund, would need to vote on Jeff’s proposal. Bruce made a motion to approve Jeff’s proposal; the motion was seconded by Darcy. The motion passed. Scholarship fund for RT schools Bruce discussed that the board has a scholarship fund, which was created back in May of 2006. Bruce made a motion that the NSRC donate each year from the scholarship fund to each respiratory school program within Nebraska. In addition, that we would also eliminate the Linda Sturdevant Memorial Student Award. Bruce discussed that the criteria of dispersing the money to the student or students would be left up to the schools to develop the: criteria, selecting the winner(s), and to notify the NSRC. Bruce added that if another respiratory program develops then they would also be able to receive a scholarship. The motion was seconded by Darcy. Bruce discussed that the only stipulation would be that the scholarship money would be awarded to respiratory student(s) only and not be used for any other purposes. Bruce mentioned that the NSRC would also recognize the schools during the state meeting as being recipients of the scholarship. Tim suggested that we contact the program directors of each school to verify if they would agree to the scholarship. Bruce stated that the NSRC would not make it mandatory that respiratory schools receive the money. Dave amended Bruce’s original motion by stating that the scholarship be made available to all respiratory schools in Nebraska who would wish to participate. The amended motion was seconded by Bruce, motion passed. Recruitment Committee Bruce stated that he, Bill, Keith, and Sheri, organized the committee. Bruce discussed the final objectives from the committee. The objectives identified were to: o Increase membership numbers o Increase the awareness if the operations of the NSRC and AARC o Send a letter out to all licensed therapists in Nebraska to inform them on the activity of the NSRC / AARC and the importance of being a member and the benefits that are associated with that o Encourage involvement in the NSRC and the availability of discounted vouchers to them. Bruce discussed that prohibitive cost of mailing out 1246 letters to all licensed therapists within the state. Other suggestions from the committee included: o Sending out thank you letters to those licensed therapists who become new members. The thank you letters would also ask the new members for their assistance in recruiting one additional therapist in joining the NSRC/AARC. o NSRC members to attend RT departments general staff meetings o NSRC members to visit and present a lecture on recruitment to all the Nebraska RT schools o The NSRC to offer additional teleconferences o The NSRC to utilize raffles to support sporting events to aid in improving our name recognition. Bruce made a motion that the NSRC advertise respiratory related conferences or seminars, which are not sponsored or have booths, on our website for free. The motion was seconded by Dave. Bruce discussed that currently sponsored conferences or seminars offer the NSRC a free booth or display during the conference in exchange for the free advertising on our website. Darcy suggested that we offer free advertising on our website if the conference coordinator would be willing to add our flier in their conference packet that regarding becoming an AARC/NSRC member. Darcy made a motion to amend Bruce’s original motion that the NSRC offer free advertising on our website in return for adding a flier in their conference packet. The motion was seconded by Dave, motion passed. Bill questioned who would be responsible for contacting the coordinator of these non-sponsored conferences; stating that we would not multiple board members calling the conference coordinator. In addition, who would be responsible for sending the fliers to the conference? Darcy stated that she has about 200 fliers from the AARC that we can use for upcoming conferences. Bruce stated that both he and Sherri would be the contact person to reach if anyone inquires about adding a conference to the website; stating that one of them would contact the coordinator of the conference. The meeting was adjourned at 1600 Respectfully submitted by Mike Twait, NSRC Secretary
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