And the Winner Is . . .

September 10, 2007

AARC members from the Central District of the Virginia Society for Respiratory Care (VSRC) have found a great way to get more respiratory therapists involved in the American Lung Association’s annual Asthma Walk: introduce a little friendly competition into the mix.

The prize? A wonderful new trophy designed especially for the event!

The idea came from Chris Baughman, a neonatal RT at Henrico Doctors Hospital and adjunct faculty member at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond. Last year her department at Henrico organized a team to participate in the walk and ended up raising over $500 for the ALA, which uses the funds to help pay for research projects, community and school programs, and other worthwhile efforts aimed at raising awareness about asthma.

If they could do it, she thought, so could others, and went to the VSRC for help.

The state society agreed it was a great idea and formed an Asthma Walk Planning Committee to brainstorm ways to encourage participation in the Richmond walk, which is scheduled to take place at the end of the month, says Hanns Billmayer, RRT, VSRC Central District director. “They decided the best way was to have the Central District issue a challenge to all hospitals and to create a competition with a trophy as a prize.”

The trophy will be displayed in the respiratory care department of the hospital whose team raises the most money for the Asthma Walk. So far, eight teams have risen to the challenge, and the group is hoping a few more will enter the fray before the big event on September 29. They also plan to keep the momentum going.

“We have space [on the trophy] for 12 years of winners, so we plan to keep the challenge going for some time to come!” says Baughman.

Stay tuned to the “RC Currents” section of AARC Times for more information about this community-building activity and the 2007 winner of the trophy.