Respiratory Care 2009

Saturday, December 5

Dr. Forrest Bird Delivers Keynote Address

The audience at this morning’s Awards Ceremony sat in awe as the legendary Dr. Forrest Bird not only received the Association’s highest honor—the Jimmy A. Young Medal—but also delivered the 2009 Keynote Address. With a lifetime of scientific innovation to his credit, Dr. Bird is arguably one of the most important figures in the respiratory care profession, and he proved it this morning in a moving address that looked back at his remarkable career and ahead at what the future holds for us all.

Awards Ceremony honors top performers and those who serve

Today’s Awards Ceremony honored the following 2009 top performers in the American Association for Respiratory Care, American Respiratory Care Foundation, and the National Board for Respiratory Care. Please join us in congratulating them on their well-deserved honors.

• Jimmy A. Young Medal: Forrest M Bird MD PhD ScD FAARC
• Morton B. Duggan Jr. Memorial Education Recognition Award: Jessica Edgerton RRT
• NBRC/AMP William W. Burgin Jr. MD Education Recognition Award: Jason D Ramsey RRT
• NBRC/AMP Robert M. Lawrence MD Education Recognition Award: Bjorn Spoon RRT
• William F. Miller MD Postgraduate Education Recognition Award: Leah M Carlson BS RRT-NPS
• NBRC/AMP Gareth B. Gish Memorial Postgraduate Education Recognition Award: Ashley F Dulle BS RRT AE-C
• Charles W. Serby COPD Research Fellowship: John G Seifert PhD
• GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship for Asthma Care Management Education: Elgloria A Harrison MS RRT-NPS
• Monaghan/Trudell Fellowship for Aerosol Technique Development: Robert L Chatburn RRT-NPS FAARC
• Philips Respironics Fellowship in Non-Invasive Respiratory Care: Louis M Kaufman RRT-NPS FAARC
• Philips Respironics Fellowship in Mechanical Ventilation: Arthur A Taft PhD RRT
• CareFusion Fellowship for Neonatal and Pediatric Therapists: Diane K Howard RRT-NPS
• Forrest M. Bird Lifetime Scientific Achievement Award: James K Stoller MD MS FAARC
• Dr. Charles H. Hudson Award for Cardiopulmonary Public Health: John Kattwinkel MD
• Invacare Award for Excellence in Home Respiratory Care: John R Loyer MS RRT
• Sepracor Achievement Award for Excellence in Pulmonary Disease State Management: Peter C Gay MD
• Ikaria Literary Award: Kathy Jones-Boggs Rye EdD RRT
• Dr. Allen DeVilbiss Literary Award: Robert M DiBlasi RRT-NPS, John S Salyer MBA RRT FAARC, Jay C Zegnego, Gregory J Redding MD, and C Peter Richardson PhD
• Albert H. Andrews Jr. MD Memorial Award (NBRC): Robert A May MD
• Héctor León Garza MD Achievement Award for Excellence in International Respiratory Care: Kazunao Watanabe MD
International Fellows: Bolanle Adefuye MBBS FWACP (Nigeria), Adriana Maria Davalos Goiriz MD (Paraguay), Keiko Hasegawa MD (Japan), Aliaksandr Makarevich MD PhD (Belarus), Noel Tiburcio MBA RRT-NPS (UAE), Yue-hua Yuan BS RT RN (China)
• Specialty Practitioners of the Year: Adult Acute Care, Matthew Davis RRT; Continuing Care and Rehabilitation, Maria Correa BS RRT; Diagnostics, Anne M Hamilton BS RRT; Education, Jeffrey J Ward MEd RRT FAARC; Long Term Care, Amy D Jackson RRT; Management, Scott Reistad RRT; Neonatal-Pediatric, Cynthia C White BA RRT-NPS AE-C; Sleep, Thomas R Smalling PhD RRT RPFT RPSGT FAARC; Surface and Air Transport, Richard W Zimmerman Jr RRT-NPS CCEMTP, C-NPT
• Zenith Awards: CareFusion, Covidien, Draeger Medical, GE Healthcare, Masimo Corporation
• Honorary Membership: Dale L Griffiths
• Life Membership: Vijay M Deshpande MS RRT FAARC
• AARC Fellows: Kathleen Deakins MSHA RRT-NPS, John Emberger BS RRT, Homer Engert RRT, Susan Rinaldo Gallo MEd RRT, Keith B Hopper PhD RRT, John M Hughes MEd RRT AE-C, Billy M Lamb BS RRT CPFT, Carolyn O'Daniel EdD RRT, John H Riggs PhD RRT, David W Robbins DC RRT CPFT, Michael W Runge BS RRT, Kathy Jones-Boggs Rye EdD RRT, Robert C Shaw Jr PhD RRT, Mark S Siobal BS RRT, Linda A Smith BS RRT, Arthur A Taft PhD RRT, Linda Van Scoder EdD RRT, Dennis Wissing PhD RRT CPFT AE-C

The following will be recognized in a separate awards ceremony to take place during the Annual Business Meeting Sunday morning. Congratulations to:

• Outstanding Affiliate Contributor: Robert A Milisch MEd RRT
• Delegate of the Year: Jim Lanoha RRT (Louisiana)
• Summit Award: Kansas Respiratory Care Society

AARC salutes 2009 Corporate Partners

AARC Corporate Partners work with the Association to advance the respiratory care profession and promote quality respiratory health care. The AARC is proud to recognize it’s Corporate Partners for 2009: Cardinal Health, Sepracor, Masimo, Boehringer Ingelheim, Covidien, Monaghan, Philips Respironics, Ikaria, Maquet, Drager, and GE Healthcare.

Welcome Party offers attendees a chance to socialize and have fun

Congress-goers will be gathering this evening for a Welcome Party hosted by CareFusion. The event features Max Class and the Class Act, who will entertain guests with music from the past to the present. The Welcome Party is just one of many social events at the Congress that give attendees the chance to engage in informal discussions aimed at sharing experiences and networking with their peers.

Next year, it could be you up on stage

Folks who attended the Awards Ceremony at the AARC Congress this morning got to see many of their colleagues across the country accept prestigious fellowships and educational awards. Next year, that could be you! The American Respiratory Care Foundation sponsors a host of awards for deserving members of the profession, and you can find everything you need to apply for the 2010 honors right on the ARCF web site.

What is an “FAARC”?

The respiratory care profession has many top performers in areas ranging from management to education to research to bedside care. Every year at the Congress the AARC honors another group of these individuals with its Fellow of the American Association for Respiratory Care—or FAARC—designation. The 2009 class of Fellows received their honors during this morning’s Awards Ceremony, but it’s not too soon to be thinking ahead to 2010. If you know of someone who deserves this honor, please go to our FAARC page to learn how to nominate him or her for this prestigious honor.

OPEN FORUM abstracts online now

Even if you had to miss this year’s Congress, you can still quickly and easily sort through the 2009 OPEN FORUM abstracts. All the abstracts from this year—and dating back to 1995—are available on the abstracts page of the RESPIRATORY CARE web site.

COPD Educator Course: a call to action for RTs

The AARC’s COPD Educator Course debuted to rave reviews this past year, with live sessions in Florida and Colorado. Now the Association is working to put the entire course online so RTs all across the country can take advantage of this great program.

“With the growing number of COPD patients, it is imperative that we, as the lung health experts, take our disease management skills to the next level and educate ourselves in the best way to care for this condition,” says AARC COO Thomas Kallstom, RRT, AE-C, FAARC. “Clinicians who complete the online course will not only be helping their patients, they’ll be positioning themselves to deliver a new level of service to hospitals looking for more cost-effective strategies to treat COPD and minimize the revolving door of readmissions.”

Stay tuned to the AARC web site for more on the online course soon.

AARC to put members on the Fast Track to success

The AARC is developing a new Leadership Institute aimed at equipping RTs with the tools they need to succeed on the job, and the first element will be a Fast Track program focused on basic skills.

“The Fast Track is comprised of advanced education on topics any practitioner would need to get ahead professionally, including communication, leadership, basic finance, computer skills, etc.,” says Toni Rodriguez EdD RRT, who is heading up the committee charged with developing the program. RTs who complete the Fast Track core curriculum will ultimately be able to complete one or more of 3 specialty tracks in management, education, or research and earn a certificate of completion.

“The main goal of the Fast Track Program is to make accessible to any RT, anywhere, the skills and mentorship required to advance as a professional in their work environment,” says Dr. Rodriguez. “The topics for the 3 tracks were chosen because they are key to the advancement of our profession, and the AARC is committed to growing our own future leaders.”

The value of membership: Do the math

AARC membership comes with a wealth of benefits—everything from subscriptions to AARC Times and RESPIRATORY CARE to discounts on apparel and gift items in the AARC Store. But are they really worth the cost of dues? You’ll soon be able to find out. We’re developing a “Calculator” on the AARC web site that will let you quickly and easily tally up the dollar value of the benefits you use most. We think you’ll see that membership in the AARC pays for itself, and then some.

PPUSA takes you the extra mile

These days, hospitals are looking for health care professionals who go the extra mile. The AARC’s Peak Performance USA program is a great way for you to be that person. This online program has everything you need to take asthma education into your local schools. Get involved and you’ll not only become a player in your community, you’ll top the list when your administration looks at who is stepping up to do community service.