Greetings, fellow Nevada Respiratory Care
Practitioners! This is the inaugural issue of a semi-
annual publication of the NSRC Times. Our goal is
to improve communication among RCPs in the
state, and keep you informed of the activities of
the Nevada Society for Respiratory Care (NSRC).
As active members in good standing with the
AARC, you are automatically members of the
Nevada chapter.

First, let me introduce the Board of Directors of
the NSRC. Your elected officers are as follows:
Luvell Henderson--President, Pam Biglow-Hearst—
President-elect, Gerard Marshall—Immediate Past
President, Sandy Ollivier—Vice President, Connie
Small—Secretary-Treasurer, John Steinmetz--
Delegate, and the Directors-at-Large are Mary
Finayev, Lori Johnston, Roger Moorhead and Peggy
Alby.   

Past Activities                                
Respiratory Care Week
As we are all aware, Respiratory Care Week is
every October. That is generally a time when
departments and bosses do special things for our
practitioners. It should also be a time to promote
the respiratory care profession and respiratory
health, increase awareness of lung health issues,
and encourage those seeking education in the field
of respiratory care.
In Las Vegas this past October, Mayor Oscar
Goodman and the City Council presented NSRC
President Luvell Henderson with a proclamation in
honor of Respiratory Care Week. Several other
board members were also present for the
ceremony.
Next January’s issue of this newsletter will
hopefully have many stories to share on how
Nevada RCPs celebrated their RC Week.

House of Delegates
Delegate John Steinmetz attended the House of
Delegates conference in Orlando, FL this past
November. The AARC’s House of Delegates meets
twice a year, before the annual Summer Forum and
also before the annual International Congress.
Each state has up to two delegates representing
them.
The delegates have a full agenda discussing
resolutions that will be amended, passed,
withdrawn, or defeated. Once passed, these
resolutions are forwarded to the appropriate
committee for further action.
   A recent resolution concerned the development of
equipment lists and competencies as guidelines for
RT departments in preparation for mass casualty
situations. Another resolution concerned the
development of clinical practice guidelines for
moderate sedation.

Upcoming Activities
PACT
The Political Advocacy Contact Team (PACT) will
descend on Washington, DC for three days the
first week of March. The NSRC will be sending
Sandy Ollivier of Reno and Denise Warrick of the
Las Vegas area on this annual trek to meet with
Representatives, Senators, and their aides. The
purpose of their mission is to advocate for
legislative issues concerning our respiratory
patients and our profession.


Following is a list of several legislative bills in
various stages of sponsorship:

·        In the House of Representatives, HR 3968 is
    the Medicare Respiratory Therapy Initiative.
    This bill will allow Bachelor’s Degree RRTs to
    deliver respiratory services in the outpatient
    and home care setting. A Senate companion
    bill is needed also.

·        In the Senate, Bill S 329 is the Pulmonary
    and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act. The
    companion bill in the House of
    Representatives is HR 552. These bills will
    provide for consistent coverage under
    Medicare for pulmonary and cardiac rehab
    that currently varies widely from state to
    state.

·        Senate Bill S 1484, and companion Bill HR
    621, is the Medicare Home Oxygen Patient
    Protection Act. This bill would repeal sections
    of the Social Security Act that now requires
    home oxygen patients to own their own
    equipment after 36 months.

·       Senate Bill S 605, the Allied Health
    Reinvestment Act, would provide schools
    with grant money to provide scholarships
NSRC TIMES
A Newsletter of the Nevada Society for Respiratory Care
    and to recruit disadvantaged students into
    the allied health professions.

·       HR 1108 and S 625 are introduced to give
    the Food and Drug Administration the
    authority to regulate tobacco products.

Each of us, as respiratory therapists, has the
power to influence our legislators. We need to
write or email our representatives urging them to
support these bills. The AARC makes this easy to
do. Simply go the their website, www.aarc.org, and
click on the link “AARC’s Capitol Connection.” Just
type in your zip code and it brings up each of your
legislators. You can email them with already typed
text, or you can type your own message for any or
all of the legislative issues listed above. It will only
take a few minutes, but can make a world of
difference.

NSRC Elections
Be watching for nomination forms in the regular
mail and email. Every April we send out requests
for nominations for our annual elections. If you
know an AARC member in Nevada who is
interested in serving the profession, please
nominate them. It will require a time commitment
of monthly meeting and perhaps time for some
special project during the year, but it is a great
experience. All positions are one year terms except
the directors-at-large serve two years, and the
delegates serve four years. Come to a meeting and
check it out!
We recently had one of our delegates, Steve
Kessinger, resign his position. The Board
appointed current delegate, John Steinmetz, to
complete Steve’s term, which will end in 2010. We
will now be looking for nominations to fill John’s
vacant post.

State Society Meeting
A State Society Meeting is in the planning stages.
You will have the opportunity to earn CRCEs, check
vendors’ products, network with fellow RCPs, and
have a good time. Be watching for emails and flyers
as plans become more concrete. As of now, it
looks like it will be the first week of September.

Just a Few More Things
Sputum Bowl
We all know what the Sputum Bowl is. Some of us
have even participated in one at some point in our
careers. Unfortunately, Nevadans have been pretty
complacent in recent years. This is a rallying call for
all of us practitioners to take the challenge, and
put together a team for next December’s annual
event. We can do it!!
In 2006, Pima Medical Institute represented Nevada
with a student team. We hope
   to see another student team again this year. Only
one student team and one practitioner team can
attend. There may need to be some elimination
challenges to see which school will send a team on
to the finals in Anaheim, CA this year.
Everyone, talk among your RT friends and work up
the courage! Contact Connie Small for further
information. An application will need to be filed by
April, but the final team does not have to be
determined until October. (Contact info listed at
the end.)

Welcome, Students
Nevada has seen the addition of two more schools
with Respiratory Therapy programs. Pima Medical
Institute started their program about two years
ago. Apollo College started their first class last
July. The College of Southern Nevada has been
around for many years and continues to produce
high quality students. All of these schools are in
the Las Vegas metropolitan area.
We, as the experienced RTs, need to welcome
these students with open arms. We must
remember that we are their mentors whether we
choose to be or not. We must embrace them and
lead by example. Remember also that they are the
future.

**********REMINDER******************
          Your RCP licenses are due for renewal.
Renew early to avoid any delays! Everyone should
have received a renewal notice in the mail. If you
have any problems or have not received a renewal
notice, the Board of Medical Examiners can be
contacted by phone at 775-688-2559 or
888-890-8210; or their website is
www.medboard.nv.gov. You will save $50.00 by
renewing on-line. Your license will expire February
29, 2008.

Contact Information
The next publication of the NSRC Times will be July
2008. Please submit anything of interest that you
would like to share with the RCP community. Our
mailing address is:
NSRC c/o Connie Small
PO Box 28686
Las Vegas, NV 89126
Or, email me at: conkerdoodle@hotmail.com
The NSRC is currently working on a new website.
Our new website address will be www.nsrc.us.
Also, we would like your email addresses to keep
you informed of all the latest happenings around
the state. Email Bonnie Weaver at:
bon_weaver@yahoo.com with your current
information.                  


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