Co-Editors
Michael Jackson, RRT
Cambridge, MA
(617) 732-5428 Fax (815) 461-7885

John Rutkowski, RRT
Hopatcong, NJ
(973) 972-7228 Fax (973) 972-5258

House of Delegates Officers
LaDawn Neary, BA, RRT/Speaker
Lexington, KY
(859) 323-6057 Fax (859) 257-2402

Thomas Striplin, MEd, RRT, RPFT/Speaker-elect
Mt. Savage, MD
(301) 784-5523 Fax (301) 784-5015

Denise Johnson, RRT/Secretary
St. Paul, MN
(651) 220-6812 Fax (651) 220-6778

Tony Rodela, RRT/Treasurer
Phoenix, AZ
(602) 973-9113

Ruth Krueger, BS, RRT/Past Speaker
Sioux Falls, SD
(605) 333-6514 Fax (605) 333-4402

Robert Fluck, Jr., RRT, MS, RRT, FAARC/Parliamentarian
Syracuse, NY
(315) 464-6865 Fax (315) 464-6876

Editor’s Note

John A. Rutkowski, RRT
Co-Editor

Over the recent months I have had the pleasure of participating in a few professional conferences. One of particular significance was the “16th Annual Respiratory Care Spring Forum” hosted by the NY and NJ Societies for Respiratory Care. This conference is attended by a group of dedicated managers and educators from across NY and NJ, and frequently from other states. The conference theme this year was “Respiratory Care—Focusing on the Future.” Predominant in virtually every discussion session and networking opportunity were two issues—difficulty recruiting staff and difficulty recruiting students. Both of these issues together exacerbate a critical issue for the AARC—membership.

Another topic of interest that was discussed at the same conference was the “perception” of respiratory care and respiratory care staff by others. Do we have an identity crisis? Are we technical or professional staff? Can others carry out our day-to-day functions?

Perhaps these issues will provide some interesting and lively chatter at the HOD meeting, on the list serve, or in future issues of The Record. Let’s get back to the matter at hand—the The Record. This issue of the The Record includes a little bit for all of us. As you read through the issue you will find articles of interest to new delegates, experienced delegates, and a challenge to all of us to be a little “become like the founders” of our profession. Read on, enjoy, have a safe journey to Orlando. [Top]

Speaker’s Article

LaDawn L.Neary, BA, RRT

Hope you all are getting as excited for the Orlando meeting as I am. Looks like we’re going to have some good reports and discussions as well as a great mentoring opportunity. Students from both Respiratory Care Programs in Orlando will be attending the HOD/BOD meetings so I’m hoping we have lots to share with them.

I’m sure the other officers will be filling you in on the AARC BOD meeting we attended in Dallas back in March through their articles. There was a lot of discussion and interaction between both the HOD officers, BOD and executive office staff on a variety of issues, one being the AARC Strategic Plan and Mission Statement. Some of you may not be aware that the HOD Speaker is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee, which AARC Past President Peg Traband currently chairs.

Peg has had us busy with our charges since the beginning of the year, but the March meeting allowed the BOD and HOD officers to provide additional input into President Shelledy’s charge to review and make recommendations on updating the AARC’s Mission/Vision Statement, Strategic Objectives and Strategic Plan. These charges are currently ongoing.

The Mission/Vision Statement is currently being tweaked by the committee and will be sent to the BOD for approval. The proposed language is a more condensed version of the original. It also addresses the AARC’s growth into the International area. Once the new version is approved, we’ll make sure it is forwarded to all.

Dealing with the Strategic Objectives and Plan has been much more involved. Not only have these documents been reviewed for shortcomings and missing components, but also to ensure that future challenges are addressed. A survey was also distributed to the BOD list serve requesting responses to a variety of questions. How would you have responded to some of these questions?

• What business is the AARC in?
• What is the AARC’s biggest liability and strongest asset?
• How can we exploit our strongest asset and correct our biggest liability?
• What roles will the Resp. Therapist of 2010 play with cardiopulmonary care? (from listing)
• Which health profession most closely parallels your vision of the Resp. Therapist of 2010? (from listing) And why?
• In the year 2010, what percentage of revenues should be derived from dues and what do you envision the focus of our organization would be?

Actually, the survey generated a great deal of information, but it was determined that membership is job #1 for the AARC. Other areas the plan should address are protocols, public policy, skills of the therapist and expansion into the international area.

From here the committee held a brainstorming session with the BOD and HOD officers. The issues discussed were Federal and State Public Policy, Membership and Protocols. Obviously a lot of information was gathered as I jotted down 6 pages of responses for these issues. The committee will now use this information to update the AARC’s Strategic Objectives and Plan.

I will have all of my notes in Orlando, if anyone is interested in seeing them. Let me just say that through the reports you’ll hear in July, it will be seen that we’re on target with the direction of the AARC. The work of the HOD Ad Hoc Committee also is moving in the right direction.

FYI, the Strategic Plan is on the AARC’s web site under “Member Services”. The Strategic Objectives can be found in the 2003 Delegate Handbook, page 8. The Mission/Vision Statement is with the AARC Times Table of Contents pages before the publishing information.

I look forward to seeing everyone in a couple of months, have a safe trip to Orlando. [Top]

Speaker-elect’s Report

Tom Striplin, MEd, RRT

The House: The Key That Opens the Door to Our Members
I would like to again welcome all the new delegates who will be attending their first House meeting. The House of Delegates is a dynamic group of professionals who come together twice a year to provide leadership for the profession and to provide a two-way chain of communication between the state affiliates and the national office. I have never worked with a finer group of professionals and I look forward to the next three years as an officer of this exceptional body.

The House of Delegates is the birthplace of the majority of our elected executive officers. Most elected AARC officers have served as a delegate in the House or in a leadership role within the House of Delegates at sometime or another. The House of Delegates, the executive office and our elected executive officers openly communicate and exchange ideas. All three branches are equally important to the successful operation of the association, and all three branches have overcome many hurdles to create an open-ended atmosphere of communication.

According to our operational structure, The House of Delegates is an “advisory only” body in terms of overall AARC operations. Our elected executive officers are responsible for policy, budget and operational oversight decisions. It is our elected officers that direct the “executive office” in operational decisions. This sometimes makes delegates feel as though the “House” is merely a representative body with no real power. Nothing could be further from the truth! Operationally the executive officers must have the power to make critical decisions, however, organizationally, the House of Delegates is the key to the “lock” and the direct pathway to the membership.

From an organizational standpoint, the House of Delegates is a strong body that can send messages between its membership and onto the executive board. The House represents that trunk of the tree that branches out to all the members via the state affiliates. I can assure that if the House is unanimously passionate about something and refers it to the executive side, it will be attended to. If it is not (and that does happen), and somehow it falls into the “black hole”; then the House of Delegates and its leadership must see that it comes back out of the black hole and finds its proper place in the association.

The House of Delegates is a direct voice of its membership; it allows state affiliates to express positions on issues impacting the profession and allows members to have a pathway to voice concerns in a formal body. The executive office and the executive board have come to the House and asked us to help with increasing our membership. The House has taken on the task and done a great job in getting the word out and helping in increasing membership within the organization.

It takes more then just one branch of an organization to make a difference in terms of professional direction. The House of Delegates in coordination with the executive office and executive board makes the difference in our profession. I believe you will find your time in the House of Delegates a worthwhile and memorable professional experience. You will also be allowed to have a little fun along the way! You will meet a great body of friends that may last you a lifetime.

Have a safe trip to Orlando, looking forward to seeing you all again and meeting all the new delegates. [Top]

Secretary’s Report

Denise Johnson, BS, RRT

During the past month resolutions have been submitted to the resolutions committee via the online forms found on the AARC web site. We have received five to date and I will forward them to Pat Lee by June 9, 2003. The committee has reviewed each of them for content, clarity and complete information. If there have been concerns or questions, I have contacted the authors to request more information or to answer our questions prior to submitting them to Pat. Pat will in turn be distributing all of the resolutions out to the entire House of Delegates list serve. This will allow each of you time to share them with your state affiliate boards and to gain insight and direction from them on how your state delegation should vote once the resolutions are moved to the floor in Orlando.

I also wanted to mention the exceptional experience I had in March when I attended the AARC BOD meeting in Dallas. It was an opportunity for the House officers to spend valuable time together, planning for the upcoming year and to listen, learn, and participate in the BOD meetings. We spent one afternoon working on long range strategic planning. Once again I was impressed with the involvement the AARC has at the national and international level. We really have many different initiatives going on through our professional organization. During the House meetings in July, you will be hearing a lot more about the many exciting things ahead for us.

I am looking forward to seeing you all soon and serving as your House Secretary. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. [Top]

Treasurer’s Report

Tony Rodela, MBA, RRT

In February, the Audit Committee, chaired by Tom Striplin, held a conference call with the auditors from Grant Thornton, to review the audit and have an opportunity to ask questions. The other members of the committee are AARC President Elect Janet Boehm and Secretary/Treasurer Susan Rinaldo Gallo. Joining the conference call was Tony Lovio, controller.

The audit reviewed the consolidated statements of the financial position of the AARC as of December 31, 2002. Comments by Grant Thornton included an inventory to be taken of all furniture, equipment and other assets and that this inventory be reconciled to the fixed asset subsidiary records. This was due to the water damage the Association experienced that affected most of the fixed assets held at the building in Dallas. The other comment was that the Association implement requirements to change computer passwords at least every six months.

Grant Thornton issued an unqualified opinion, stating that the AARC’s financial statements were presented fairly and conform to the accepted accounting principles.

The AARC Finance Committee met just prior to the Board of Directors meeting in March. Tony Lovio, controller, reviewed the year-end financial statements with all in attendance.

AARC 2002 Financials
The AARC Secretary/Treasurer will present a full report of the 2002 financial statement. At this time I will only highlight the revenue/expense report and to state that the net assets at the end of 2002 were $6,200.870.

Speaker LaDawn Neary wanted me to review the budget process in this article, specifically the Rates and Volumes.

Rates and Volumes

• Presented at the summer meeting during Joint Session.
• Proprietary information is discussed in Executive Session and must remain confidential.
• Rates and Volumes are submitted to the Budget Committee, HOD, and BOD for approval.

Rates and Volumes:
Definitions of Rates

• An expense rate is the anticipated cost that the AARC will pay for an item.
• Example: rate for one postage stamp.
• A revenue rate is the price the AARC expects to charge for a service or a product.
• Example: the dues charge for Specialty Section membership.

Hotel Rates

• Hotel Room Rates: projected room rates (including taxes) for four major meeting sites for the Association are reviewed.
• Usually based upon Washington, DC, Dallas area, next year’s annual meeting site, next year’s summer meeting site/coast.

Airfare Rates

• Roundtrip coach airfare from ten major cities is averaged.
• 20% fare increase is factored in.
• 10% discount for special fares factored in.
• Example: Average roundtrip coach $808.
• 20% fare increase 162.
  Subtotal $970
• 10% discount—97
  Proposed airfare rate $873

Definition of Volume

• Volume is the number of units the AARC expects to use/sell/retain in the fiscal year.
  Examples:
• number of envelopes used.
• number of RC Week mugs sold.
• number of Specialty Section members.

Multi-Year Data Review
Rates and Volumes

• Rate multiplied by the volume equals budgeted amount.
• Example: Anticipated Postage Rate ($0.37) x Anticipated Volume (1000 pieces of mail) = $370.00 would be budgeted for postage for the XYZ Committee.

AARC Budget Development

• The HOD Treasurer and Speaker Elect are apprised of constraints in the budget and make adjustments in the HOD requests to come into compliance with the AARC proposed budget.
• The proposed budget is mailed to the Finance Committee for review in advance of the meeting.
• The budget is presented to the Budget Committee, BOD, and HOD for approval.

If this has been confusing, we will have another opportunity to review it again at the summer meeting. I look forward to a productive and informative meeting. [Top]

Past Speaker’s Report

Ruth Krueger, BS, RRT

“What ever happened to that resolution?”
The resolution process is a detailed, finely tuned, wonderfully crafted but at times, totally frustrating process that makes us wonder occasionally where do those HOD passed resolutions go? The past speaker’s responsibility is to inform you, hopefully before adjournment of the HOD meeting, the outcome of the resolutions most recently passed by the House. The report given at that time is what the BOD has done with the recommendation from the house. If the BOD defeats the resolution, we know where it goes—AWAY. If the BOD passes the resolution, it is given to a specified person or group to deal with (like the EO)—and this is where I believe at times, the black hole opens.

Many times, the resolution is just incorporated into the workings of what the EO does like the resolution asking for the EO to allow late requests for CEU approval but to charge an additional fee for this service. This was passed by the BOD and adopted and implemented by the EO—easy. Another easily dealt with resolution that was very controversial in the House but did pass is the resolution stating that the HOD does not support separate state membership. The BOD accepted that resolution for information. It was a necessary statement from the House that lends support for restructuring the revenue sharing to profit sharing. The difficult resolution (from ND) that was passed by the House asking for the AARC, NBRC and CoARC to establish a strategy and timetable to move from the two tiered credentialing system to a single entry credential was referred to the EO. It was brought forward again in March in Dallas with further action from the BOD to continue to work this thing through—very difficult, time sensitive issue but still very much being actively worked on.

We have a very informative resolution tracking system that you have access to through Pat Lee. It is a 50+ page report of all the resolutions and their outcomes and current status. It is not electronically available, but Pat has agreed to bring a copy of the complete report to each House meeting to be placed on the back table as a reference. She will also include the key (which is located in your delegate handbook page 22) with the report in case you don’t bring your delegate handbook. If you want to know the outcome of a specific resolution prior to Orlando, call Pat and she can look it up for you. I have a copy of all of 2002—15 pages worth so you can call me if you want to know one from last year. It’s very interesting paging through those resolutions and seeing what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve decided wasn’t worth the energy or $$ required to implement.

Are there resolutions still open and out there—yes—two for 2002. Wisconsin’s resolution asking that affiliates assume the name AARC of (state name) and the ND resolution discussed above. Both are in the EO for further development. I know the WI resolution directly affects the state charter so there was issue about what exactly the AARC could do about that. I will follow up and see if there is anything we can do to close that resolution.

Looking forward to seeing you in July. Have a fun, safe summer. [Top]

A Little Bit of the “Founders of the ITA”
in Each of Us

Janet M. Boehm, MS, RRT
President Elect

I would like to celebrate the future of the AARC. Since July13, 1946 when a small group of “oxygen orderlies” felt the need to organize and form the Inhalation Therapy Association did the vision of working together as professionals go forward. For 57 years, the volunteers of the world’s oldest professional organization for Respiratory Therapists have sought to advance the profession. In this writing, we will celebrate their remarkable journey as they pursued a shared vision of a world of professional volunteers working together to make a difference.

The AARC, which was officially founded on April 14, 1947, traces its roots back to Chicago where a group of physicians, nurses, and other individuals met together at the University of Chicago to develop a professional association. The founders, George A. Kneeland (a registered pharmacist), Richard E. Goss (manufacturer of vinyl oxygen tent canopies), Vincent T. McCue (inhalation therapy department manager), Brother Roland Maher (nurse-anesthetist) and Brother Silverius Case (nurse-anesthetist) diverse in their backgrounds, still shared a vision of a profession and a professional association that was not yet conceived. Although the founders originally supposed they were starting a local organization, they did not realize that they were actually starting a national movement that would establish and recognize the profession of Inhalation Therapy.

That same year, a landmark event took place that furthered the efforts of the Inhalation Therapy Association (ITA). “Albert Andrews, an otolaryngologist from Chicago, had documented the purpose and structure of the hospital-based inhalation therapy department. He described a prototypical functioning service in five pages of his book Manual of Oxygen Therapy Techniques. This remarkably brief description was intensely studied, and its suggested departmental architecture was copied all across North America.”1 Our profession was officially recognized through the efforts of this one individual.

These caring “oxygen orderlies,” have brought to our profession a way of volunteering. It is a way of working together that approaches our professional challenges, not from special interests, but from a holistic view which values all characteristics of individuals (diversity) and forges a common path toward a better future.

There are scores of these types of volunteers—the ones who traveled the road in the past, the many who make the journey today, and as we continue to grow, the many more who will blaze the trail into the future. It is a story of courage and commitment that began with one small group of “tank orderlies” in Chicago. Now, more than fifty seven years later, it embraces more than 30,000 members around the world and represents more than 100,000 practitioners.

The future of our profession is not without challenges. We must become like the “founders” of the ITA. We must utilize all the strengths, courage and dedication of all our volunteers to forge a common path toward a better future. We must convince the individuals that are non-members we need their support in order for our vision to continue for another 50 years. We must utilize the strengths of each of the members of the House of Delegates to meet these challenges. For the House of Delegates is the AARC’s “think tank” of innovation that will provide a method as to how we can forge together to address our challenges. I call on each of you to remain involved. I call on each of you to become like our “founders” and make a small effort that will support our vision of our profession.

Our volunteers in the American Association for Respiratory Care come from varying backgrounds and interests. What is extraordinary is that you as professionals choose to associate with each other around a shared vision. In this connectedness, each individual progresses, the association gets stronger, the world of health care gets better. Celebrate the future! We each have the strength, the courage, and the dedication to make it better!

1 Weilacher, Robert A, BHA, RRT AARC—50 Years of Service, June 2, 2003. [Top]

Delegate Assistance Committee

Steve Kessinger, CRT
Co-Chair

By the time you read this, the Summer Forum will have come and gone and our profession will be gearing up for the 49th annual International Congress.

The two days prior to both the Summer Forum and the Congress are always filled with activities by elected and appointed officials of the AARC.

The House of Delegates is just one of these activities and each session is filled with numerous reports on the state of affairs in the field of respiratory care and specifically what is happening in our associations, both locally and internationally.

These activities are so important that the AARC has established (through the House of Delegates) a special fund to help societies send their elected representatives (delegates) to these meetings.

The Delegate Assistance Committee was recently charged with finding a way to continue this support, but also to review and revise, as necessary, the application process.

Currently, each state has the option to apply for travel expenses exceeding 25% of their annual budget. On occasion, this rule can be waived based on specific financial needs of the state and a letter stating these needs from the state’s president. Additionally, they must provide a written budget to verify their request.

One of the things I’ve noticed while reviewing applications is that each state has a unique way of expressing a budget report. I’d like to offer some suggestions that may help future applicants and also make it easier for the committee to make the hard decision of who gets assistance and who does not.

First, each state’s board members should participate in the process. This creates a continuing learning process for current and new members. Having the President and Treasurer do the budget (and then have the board review the budget) does not pass along vital information to incoming members. This form of “Staff Development” will ensure that a consistent budget format is maintained and nothing missed.

Second, take your time to build this budget. Review all the possibilities and write them down. Set it aside for a while and add to it as other items appear. (Each member should do this independently and then share their thoughts with the other members) Budgets are an ongoing process and therefore need constant review.

Thirdly, once you have all of your expenses and projected income identified, please list them all in order of their importance. This will allow you to filter out those projected expenses that you can really do without (if you must!!). These are “Soft Targets” and may need to be eliminated when trying to balance the budget. Remember that any budget that has more expenses than income is a major headache. Once the soft targets are eliminated, you may still have to remove programs and projects that tax your state’s ability to “meet the bottom line”. It’s not fun, but it may be necessary.

If you separate expenses from income, and you identify which projected income is tied to which expense, the budget will be easy to view. (remember to list each item separately)

Once all these things have been done you can write your final report. It will be less cluttered and easily read by anyone with minimal experience in the budgetary process.

It will also make it much easier for the Delegate Assistance Committee to review it when a waiver is requested. (our committee requires “staff development” too).

The final thing to remember is that delegate travel should be one of your expense items. If you find (after all your cuts) that you still need assistance, the committee is here to help you as best we can. We will do what we can with what we have to have representation from each affiliate. [Top]

Publication Schedule

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Calendar of Events

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Membership Figures

(as of 7/8/03)

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