Director of Respiratory Care
Cookeville Regional Medical Center
Cookeville, TN
AARC Member since 1980
AARC Activities
Vice President External Affairs 2012
Secretary-Treasurer, 2006—2008
BOD
BOD Member 2002—2004
Parliamentarian, 2011
Committee Chairs
Chair, Program Committe, 2005—2006
Chair, Ad Hoc Committee for Recognition of Centers of Excellence 2004
Chair, Position Statement Committee 2011, 2012
Committee Memberships
Member, Political Action Committee, 2006—present
Member, Legislative & Governmental Affairs, 2003—2009
Member, Program Committee, 1994—2004, 2007—2008
Member, Strategic Planning and PR, 2003, 2006, 2011, 2012
Member, Ad Hoc Coding Committee, 2003—present
Member, Finance Committee, 2006—2008, 2012
Member, Chartered Affiliates Committee, 1992—1993
Member, Bylaws Committee, 1991 Special Representative
Member, Management Section, 2002—present
HOD Activities
Delegate, Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care, 1989—1992, 1995—1998 Officer
Chair, Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee, 1997
Member, Ad Hoc Decision Making Process, 1996—1997
Member, Publications Committee, 1996—1997
Member Data Collections Committee, 1996
Member, Progress-Transition Committee, 1992
Affiliate Activities
President, Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care 1988, 2001
President-Elect, Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care 1987, 2000
Secretary, Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care 1993
Board of Directors Tenure
Delegate, Tennessee Society for Respiratory Care 1989—1992, 1995—1998
Committee Chairs
Chair, Program 1988—1999, 2007
Chair, Communications Committee 2004—2006
Chair, Executive Committee 1988, 2001
Chair, Publications 1996—2006
Chair, Nominations & Elections 2000
Chair, President Elect’s Committee 2000
Committee Memberships
Member, Ad Hoc Reimbursement Committee 2000
Member, Legislative Committee 1987—2007
Member, Strategic Planning Committee 1987—2007
Member, Budget and Audit Committee 1987—2001
Member, Executive Committee 1987—2001
Member, Ad Hoc 1993 Committee 1990—1999
Special Representative
Parliamentarian 1999
Representative, American Lung Association 1999
Representative, Tennessee Hospital Association 1998—2001
Related Activities
Chair, Tennessee Health Related Boards, Respiratory Care Licensure Board, 2002—2003
Member, Tennessee Health Related Boards, Respiratory Care Licensure Board, 1998—2001, 2005—2011
Medical Advisory Board for Cardinal Health, 2005—2008 Speaker’s Bureau for Sepracor, 2005
American Heart Association, Robertson County, 1999—2003
Education
Associates Degree, Respiratory Care, Rock Valley College, Rockford, IL, 1979
Bachelor’s Degree, Health Care Administration, Ottawa University, Kansas City, KS, 1984
Publications
“Respiratory Care Licensure: The Tennessee Experience” AARC Times, May 1993, Vol. 17, Issue 5
What AARC or Chartered Affiliate offices/positions have you held where you feel you made a significant contribution to our profession? What is the contribution and how will you apply it to your new position if elected?
I have seen many accomplishments by the AARC in my past 30 years of being an active member in my state society and the AARC Board of Directors. I do realize there is much more to be done. I always surrounded myself with very intelligent people, and have always learned from them and will continue to do so. I have been in management many years, currently as Director of Respiratory Care, Sleep, and EEG. My management experiences provide valuable professional insights. I value the fruits of cross training, lifelong learning, and active membership in the AARC. My knowledge of generational differences, needs, and outlooks is considerable. I feel I am uniquely qualified to lead the AARC and guide us through the morass of societal, political, and practitioner needs and issues. I believe I can affect an extremely positive change on the future professional landscapes.
As a leader, what do you see as the top 3 priorities for the AARC, and what steps would you take to advance those priorities?
I believe our biggest roadblock to increasing membership is the fact the majority of respiratory therapists still don’t realize the “bang for the buck” they receive by paying dues and becoming a member. The AARC has had successful campaigns in the past with frequent grass roots efforts, and I think this would work again. I think utilizing our Sections to help advertise the benefits of the AARC would be beneficial. One very important benefit the AARC offers to therapists is continuing education credits. Conferences and webinars could be posted on Specialty Sections list serves. Members of that list serve could be asked to print the notice and post it where it can be seen by members and non-members alike. I strongly believe that once our non-members realize the savings of being a member, they will fully realize the “bang for the buck” members receive.
Leadership development is an issue facing many organizations, including the AARC. What can the AARC do to mentor the next generation of leaders?
Due to mentoring’s effectiveness of developing leaders, it is in the AARC’s best interest to help guide it. This does not mean it has to be a formal approach where the AARC assigns mentoring relationships; but rather a more informal approach where it provides learning opportunities to both mentors and protégés. It can help guide and inform people looking for mentors, develop future mentors, and establish processes for the mentoring program. While we traditionally think of mentoring as a long-term relationship where a mentor guides a protégé, the AARC could accomplish mentoring through a more informal method with the use of social media. The face-to-face environment of traditional mentoring can be replaced with more versatile media, such as blogs, microblogs, virtual meeting places and social sites. Thus, the use of these tools and applications would allow mentoring to take place over greater distances and in different time periods.