AARC Board Acts on Task Force Report

May 14, 2012

The AARC Board of Directors met recently and acted on recommendations that will ultimately impact the future of respiratory care. Among those actions was passage of a motion to accept the direction for the future of health care as recommended by the first report called “Creating a Vision for Respiratory Care in 2015 and Beyond,” as published in the March 2009 issue of Respiratory Care journal. That report describes the drivers of health care and future needs of respiratory care patients and health care system.

The Board also approved the development of a web site dedicated to the findings, processes, outcomes, and decisions surrounding the 2015 and Beyond project. That web site will become available this summer.

Other issues were discussed and acted upon during the meeting. They include:

• Reviewing a position statement by the Hospital Care Collaborative reaffirming our position that we believe health care is a “team sport” with respect and recognition for the knowledge, talent, and professionalism of all team members.

• Calling for the development of a position statement on best practices in respiratory care productivity assessment and analysis, and approving updates to several current position statements.

• Encouraging the Home Care section with development of pilot studies for RT-led programs for reducing readmissions.

• Reviewing and approving expenditures for upgrades to the computer and website infrastructure of the AARC.

• Calling Tom Kallstrom to the Executive Director position following the retirement of Sam Giordano.