Program Director, Respiratory Care
Kalamazoo Valley Community College
Kalamazoo, MI
AARC member since 1977
AARC Activities:
Member, AARC Uniform Services Committee 2001.
Member, AARC Public Relations Committee 2002.
Chair, AARC Elections Committee Dec 2004–Dec 2005.
House of Delegates Activities:
Delegate, Michigan Society for Respiratory Care 1998–2002. Parliamentarian HOD Dec 2003–Dec 2004. Member Elections Committee Dec 2001–Dec 2004. Member, Progress and Transitions Committee 2000. Member Resolutions Committee 2001. Member Orientation Committee 2001.
Affiliate Activities:
President Michigan Society for Respiratory Care (MSRC) 2008. Past-President MSRC 2009. AARC Delegate 1998–2002. District V Representative 1985–1987 and 1988–1990. Chair Education Membership Section 1991–1992. Chair Program Committee 2000. Co-Chair Legislative Committee 2003–2006 (licensure was passed in Michigan during this term). Member Program Committee 1992–1993, 1996–2001, 2004–2005, 2007–2009. Member Political Action Contact Team's Washington Delegation March 2009.
Related Organizations:
American Heart Association BLS Instructor 1983–present. American Heart Association, ACLS instructor 1989–present. American Heart Association Training Center Coordinator 1998–present.
Education:
Associates of Applied Science, Respiratory Therapy, North Central Michigan College, Petoskey, MI 1976. Bachelor of Science, Health Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI 1983 Masters of Arts, Education Leadership, Human Resource Development, Kalamazoo, MI 1986.
What is your vision of the AARC in 2015?
My vision of the AARC in 2015 is a vibrant mission-focused organization that meets the needs of its members. Our membership must include a large majority of the practicing respiratory therapists. The profession will meet the needs of our members by promoting professional excellence and advancing the science of respiratory care. Members who understand and apply the science of respiratory care will meet the needs of our patients and clients. The AARC must continue to have an advocacy focus, with the work of our Political Action Contact Team promoting funded access to respiratory therapists in all health care settings. The results of this advocacy should also include the development of statistical databases, practitioner education and patient education materials. The most important word in the name of our professional association is ”Care.“ If the AARC maintains a focus on the care we give to our patients, we will be a vibrant organization in 2015.
What have you done in the last 5 years to promote the profession in your community?
In my local community, I have worked with numerous education institutions to promote respiratory therapy as a career. I have promoted the profession to allied health students enrolled in the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency’s Education for Employment programs. I am on the advisory board for the Van Buren Intermediate School District‘s Health Occupation Program. I have helped assure that there is a focus on respiratory therapy as a profession in this program. In my state community, my most important contribution was serving as Co-chair of the Legislative Committee. The efforts of my co-chair, and our committee members led to state licensure for respiratory therapists. I have recorded radio spots at the AARC international symposium on smoking and asthma management which have aired on stations in Michigan and elsewhere. I have served the national community of therapists as a member of the Michigan’s AARC PACT Delegation to Washington.