AARC Applauds Senator Richard Durbin for Co-chairing
the Congressional COPD Caucus
DALLAS, TX (June 28, 2011) The American Association for Respiratory
Care (AARC) was pleased to learn that Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL)
has agreed to serve as Senate co-chair along with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID)
of the Congressional COPD Caucus. The caucus is made up of members of
Congress who actively support people living with chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease nationwide.
“Approximately 24 million Americans — including 557,120
people in Illinois — are living with COPD," says Senator
Durbin. "While there is no cure, the causes are largely preventable. Prevention
starts with protecting the air we breathe and I have long been committed
to that effort during my time in Congress.”
AARC President Karen Stewart, MSc, RRT, FAARC, believes Sen. Durbin's
decision to take on this active role in advocating for people with COPD
will help the entire COPD support community move its agenda forward.
“As Assistant Senate Majority Leader, Sen. Durbin has great demands
on his time, and we appreciate his willingness to help improve the quality
and quantity of life for our patients with COPD.”
AARC members from Senator Durbin's home state of Illinois have been
advocating for pulmonary patients with the Senator and his staff for
some time now, helping to educate them about COPD, its treatment and
causes as well as the great toll it takes not only on those Americans
who suffer from COPD but their families who care for them.
“COPD is currently the third leading cause of death. The disease
is also among the top seven diagnoses responsible for costly readmissions
to the hospital,” continues Stewart. Senator Durbin, like many
others in government today, are recognizing the need to provide better
treatments and more comprehensive and seamless care for these patients
so they can stay healthier and out of the costly acute care setting.
COPD costs our nation over $30 billion dollars a year and is increasing.”
The AARC is currently supporting legislation pending in the House of
Representatives that would help achieve that goal by providing easier
access to the services of a respiratory therapist for Medicare patients
with COPD being treated in outpatient settings, such as the physician's
office.
“H.R. 941 would allow certain qualified respiratory therapists
to provide smoking cessation, inhaler education, and other disease management
services to COPD patients in these settings,” notes Stewart. “We
believe, and studies have shown, that patients with access to high quality
disease management services are less likely to experience acute flare-ups
of their disease that can end up in costly hospitalizations."
The AARC believes having Sen. Durbin join Sen. Crapo at the helm of
the Congressional COPD Caucus will help to move the bill forward in
the Senate, where it is currently awaiting introduction. “As the
leading national organization representing the respiratory therapists
who provide day-to-day care for COPD patients, we appreciate his dedication
to promoting state-of-the-art care for people with this chronic lung
disease and look forward to working with him to achieve our collective
goals,” says Stewart.
The Congressional COPD Caucus was created in 2004 by Sen. Crapo as a
bipartisan, bicameral way to raise awareness of COPD. Sen. Crapo was
joined by then-Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR), and Rep. Cliff Stearns
(R-FL) and Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) in the House. Working with professional
and patient organizations, the Caucus has addressed the need to ease
air travel with supplemental oxygen, made pulmonary rehabilitation a
permanent benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, and enhanced data collection
that will assist with tailoring the public health response to COPD.
About the AARC
The American Association for Respiratory Care, headquartered in Dallas,
is a professional association of respiratory therapists that focuses
primarily on respiratory therapy education and research. The organization's
goals are to ensure that respiratory patients receive safe and effective
care from qualified professionals as well as supporting respiratory
health care providers. The association continues to advocate on behalf
of pulmonary patients for appropriate access to respiratory services
provided by qualified professionals. Further information about the AARC
and how to become a respiratory therapist are available at www.AARC.org
Contact: Kris Kuykendall
972-243-2272
Kuykendall@aarc.org