Click on the link "View Event Summary" for the agenda.

Deadline for hotel reservations is April 10.

Marriott: (515) 457-3205, $92/night or Motel 6: (515) 267-8885, $46-56/night

Fifteenth Annual Cardiac and Pulmonary 
Rehabilitation conference for health professionals 
on
May 2-3, 2008
at
West Des Moines Marriott, West Des Moines, IA

Keynote speaker includes

Murray Low, Ed.D., FAACVPR, FACSM
As President elect for the AACVPR, Murray will be talking with us about Working Together for the Future: An AACVPR National Update. He will be helping us to understand the AACVPR Strategic Plan for 2008. He also will be addressing Prevention of Chronic Disease in the 21Century through his background in Exercise Physiology.

Murray is the director of four cardiac rehabilitation programs. He is also a tenured professor at York College. He received his Doctorate in Applied Physiology at Columbia University. He has been a member of the AACVPR since 1985 and has held many positions within that organization as well as within his State association. He has made numerous presentations to the lay public and to local, state, and national associations. His NYS Association honored him for Cardiac & Pulm. Rehabilitation with its first “Visionary Award” and was recognized for his "Excellence in Education." He is an active member of the Connecticut Society for C & P Rehabilitation.

Partial list of other Speakers:

Stephen Kopecky, MD FACC
Professor of Medicine
Cardiovascular Diseases Mayo Graduate School of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN

Dr Stephen Zorn, MD
Board Certified Sleep Physician
Iowa Sleep Disorder Center
West Des Moines, IA

Bob Dickerson, MSHSA, RRT
Quality Improvement Coordinator, Clinical Quality
Iowa Health - Des Moines
Des Moines, Iowa

Murray Low

Upper Plains Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Association (UPCRA)
Nebraska Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Network (NCVPRN)
Iowa Association of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation (IACPR)

CMS has now posted clarification to Transmittal 1417/CR 5912 dated January 18, 2008. If you provide and bill for only one session of cardiac rehabilitation for a patient in a given day, that session does not have to be a minimum of 60 minutes. For one session of cardiac rehab, "session" and "hour" are not synonymous. You can read the complete Q & A here for further clarification on billing more than one session in a day.

IACPR

Spring 08 ICN UPDATE

Thursday, February 21st, 2008

8:45am - 12:15 pm

Location: via Iowa Communication Network, see sites listed on back. 

Additional sites can be set up with a minimum of 5 participants by E-mailing Patty Huisenga at Huisenga@mgmc.com or calling 515-239-6780.  If any of the sites below have less than 5 participants, the site may be cancelled.

Audience:  Interested Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation Professionals

Purpose:  To educate Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation professionals on:

1) Management of Congestive Heart Failure and new trends in medical treatment.

2) Pulmonary Exercise Testing

Faculty: 

Jolene Runkel ARNP

Nurse Practioner at the Iowa Heart Center in Des Moines, IA.

Steven R. Wanzek MD

Pulmonologist at the McFarland Clinic, in Ames, IA.

Cost:

This program is free to all members of IACPR. There is a $20.00 charge for nonmembers. 

Objectives:

1.        Review overall management of congestive heart failure.

2.        Identify new trends in medical regimen for treatment of congestive heart failure.

3.        Describe new devices used in management of congestive heart failure.

4.        Understand the diagnostic parameters of pulmonary testing.

5.        Understand interpretation of patterns of exercise abnormalities in pulmonary testing.

Schedule:

8:45    Registration

8:55    Roll Call-Welcome-Announcements

             Barbara Burmeister RN

9:10    Management of Congestive Heart Failure and new trends in medical treatment 

10:30    Pulmonary Exercise Testing            

 12:00    Evaluations

12:15    Adjournment

Tuition is free for members of IACPR and $20.00 for nonmembers. Make checks payable to IACPR or register online and pay via PayPal.

Continuing Education Units:

0.3 Nursing CEUs are approved by Mary Greeley Medical Center, provider #95. No partial credit will be granted. 1.0 RT CEUs are approved by Mary Greeley Medical Center, provider #009.

IHA needs your help.  It's hard to believe, but 2008 is closing in fast and IHA's goal of registering 20,000 Hospital Advocates has not yet been reached.

More than 15,000 of you have received this message because you have taken the time and effort to make health care policy a priority by registering with the Iowa Hospital Advocates Network.  Now it's time to take the next crucial step in building a strong base of hospital advocates. Refer-A-Friend: www.ihaonline.org/invite

IHA needs more health care leaders like you to organize others to take action.  Earlier this year, hospital advocates helped IHA accomplish multiple legislative successes by responding to Action Alerts and sending more than 20,000 e-mail messages to Iowa legislators. As IHA continues to fight for hospitals on the state and federal levels, the need for grassroots advocates becomes crucial.  The challenges facing hospitals today continue to grow as legislative battles over SCHIP, Medicare/Medicaid Funding, Charity Care Reform, Hospital Reimbursements, Health Care Quality, Price Transparency, Work force/Labor issues, Health Care Reform and dozens of other issues loom in the distance.

Pairing those issues with the upcoming caucus season and a critical election year heating up, there has never been a more important time to be involved in health care and hospital policy.  

Now is the time to spread the word to others about how and why to get involved.

IHA has created an easy way to invite others to join the Iowa Hospital Advocates Network.  "Refer-A-Friend" is a simple way to send an invitation to join the network to your friends, colleagues and others who have an interest in health care policy.  I would like to issue a challenge to you:  Spread the word, organize your staff and get everyone in your hospital registered to receive IHA Legislative Action Alerts and be a part of the future of health care policy in Iowa.

To invite friends and colleagues to join the Iowa Hospital Advocates Network visit:www.ihaonline.org/invite

Thank you for your support, and let's register 20,000 advocates by January 1, 2008!

Notepads are 5 for $2.00. Size: 3 X 3, 25 sheets per pad. Shipping cost $1.60 for 5-10 pads, $3.30 for 11-25 pads. We will calculate shipping for larger orders. If you would like to order, email Karen Schuiteman or call her at (712) 722-8113. Her address is available in the Membership Directory - members will need to log in to access it. Checks should be made payable to IACPR. We will complete your order when we receive your check.

Here's an image of the sticky notes:

This one-day workshop for healthcare professionals is designed to provide both background and current infomation on clinical practice related to the care of patients with obesity-related lung disease.   CEU's are available for dieticians, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and respiratory therapists.

(brochure no longer available)

We have what may be the last chance to get the Pulmonary and Cardiac Rehabilitation Act of 2007 (S 329) into legislation.

In prior emails, we have asked you to write to your legislators for co-sponsorship of this bill. The message has changed – if you previously contacted your legislators, this is a new request. Now we need you to solicit Senator Harkin’s support as a co-sponsor and Senator Grassley’s support as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee and let them know that you, as a cardiac/pulmonary rehab professional and a constituent, want to continue to have those services available to your patients! Without this legislation, Pulmonary Rehabilitation programs may no longer exist, and Cardiac Rehabilitation programs will continue to exist under the â€incident to” clause which is confusing and contradictory.

If you need more background and understanding, visit Immediate Call for Action 

This Call for Action includes your staff, physicians, patients, administrators, and any other people who are willing to communicate with our legislators to get this bill through.

WHAT ARE MY NEXT STEPS?

1. Contact Senator Grassley by email, fax, or phone. Click here for a sample letter, but please personalize your message. You can copy and paste this into the email link below. If you are calling, ask to speak to Sue Walden and convey the message, or leave a message on her voice mail. The script is included in this attachment.

Email Chuck Grassley, Phone (202) 224-3744, or Fax (202) 224-6020

2. Contact Senator Harkin. Click here for a sample letter, but please personalize your message. You can copy and paste this into the email link below. If you are calling, ask to speak to Janelle and convey the message, or leave a message on her voice mail

Email Tom Harkin, Phone (202) 224-3254, Fax (202) 224-9369

3. Ask your patients to send letters, emails, or phone. Use the “Sample Patient Letter” as your guide. Offer to fax the letter for them. If all they have to do is sign the letter, you’ll get more participation than if you send them home to do it. If you like, you may put out the petition for your patients to sign. We have provided you sample documents that will require very little editing on your part: Patient Letter to Grassley, Patient Letter to Harkin, Petition to Grassley, and Patient Script. Simply fill in the blanks!

KEY POINT TO REMEMBER – THE NUMBER OF CONTACTS OUR SENATORS RECEIVE IS KEY TO THIS BILL BECOMING LAW. RECRUIT EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO FAX, EMAIL, OR CALL THE SENATORS BEFORE THE END OF AUGUST - THE SOONER THE BETTER!!!  When our Medicare Administrative Contractor is implemented less than a year from now, Pulmonary Rehab programs may no longer exist since CMS has refused to issue a National Coverage Determination. This bill will also remove the confusing regulatory environment of “incident to” services for Cardiac Rehab and clearly create it as a specific Medicare benefit.

Questions? Contact Janie Knipper, Susan Siefkas, or Candy Steele. We would rather have lots of questions (there’s no such thing as a “dumb” one) rather than no response from our IACPR members.

Our friend and colleague Eileen Davey died Monday, July 23 after a courageous battle with systemic scleroderma. Eileen was a nurse for 34 years. She graduated with her A.A. in nursing from Iowa Tech Community College in 1973. She worked at the Clarinda Regional Health Center for 12 years and most recently in Cardiac Rehab. She retired in January 2006 due to her illness. She was an active member in IACPR and the Southwest Iowa district, served on the Education Committee, and participated in the Heart and Lung Games as a volunteer and patient chaperone. She was very active in her community as a volunteer for many causes.

The Eileen Davey Memorial Fund has been established. Memorials and condolences can be sent to her husband James Davey, 1200 S. Elm St., Shenandoah, IA 51601-2222.

You can read about Eileen's story at the CaringBridge website. Type "eileendavey" in the site name (no quotes).

Our thoughts and prayers are with Eileen's family during this difficult time. We will all miss her.

FOLLOW-UP TO OUR MEMBERSHIP MEETING IN SIOUX FALLS:

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR SENATORS AND CONGRESSMEN FOR SUPPORT OF THE CARDIAC AND PULMONARY REHABILITATION LEGISLATION! 

When we surveyed IACPR members at the membership meeting in Sioux Falls, many of you said you did not know how to contact your legislators, did not understand the need for legislation, or were just not motivated to do it. PLEASE take the time to take action now! Remember, incident-to services are on the OIG 2007 Workplan. 

In March, IACPR sent 3 representatives (Candy Steele – District 1, Janie Knipper – District 2, Susan Siefkas – District 3) to AACVPR’s Day on the Hill 2007 to meet with legislators and their staff to garner support for S.329 and HR 552. We are asking each one of you to write to your Senators and Congressmen so that when we go to Washington, DC they will understand this is an issue that is very important to their constituents, Iowa Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab programs, and Iowa patients. Please understand that the existence of our programs may be dependent on the passing of this legislation.

All members of the Senate and the House of Representatives need to be asked to co-sponsor this legislation. Please help make this grass roots campaign effective by contacting our Senators and the Congressman who represent the district in which you live and/or work. If we all do our part, we can make a difference as professionals who care about our patients and who want our programs to remain viable.

Instructions for contacting your Senator/Representative (do not send “snail mail” - only send letters via faxes, email, or through the legislator’s web contact form)  

Step 1: Identify your Senators and Congressmen	The document IA House and Senate lists counties represented by the our legislators. The contact information for Senators Grassley and Harkin are listed, as well as hyperlinks to their web contact forms if available.
Step 2. Compose and send letters	Sample letters to your Senator and Congressmanare available for you to use as starters. You can copy and paste this information into your email, letter to be faxed, or the web contact form. Please personalize and modify to fit your demographics, including mentioning your hospital and community. In Senator Harkin’s letter, remind him that he was a co-sponsor last year for S.1440 (which is now S.329 in the 110th Congress) and you hope he will again decide to sponsor this same bill.
Step 3. Request your medical directors and hospital CEO to also send letters.	You can draft the letter on hospital letterhead using the above sample and have them sign it.
Step 4. Let IACPR know how many letters were sent.	When you send letters, please go to the IACPR “Contact Us” page and let us know to whom you sent letters, and if you were able to get your colleagues, medical directors, CEOs, etc. to send letters also.
Step 5. Follow up with a phone call to the Washington office in a week	Tell them that you sent a letter requesting support for S.329/HR 552 and tell them how important it is to you that the Senator/Congressman signs on as a co-sponsor.

Congressmen Braley, Loebsack, King, and Latham have signed on as co-sponsors - please send them a note of thanks if they represent the district in which you live or work!

Other helpful background information is available at the AACVPR website, including the Cardiac/Pulmonary Issue paper which gives the background for this initiative. If you have any questions, please contact one of us and we will be glad to clarify any questions you have.

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO TO HELP:

We would like to have a reimbursement representative from Districts 4 and 5, so if you live or work in either of those districts (see attachment) and would like to be a part of our team, please let us know.

Learn some Grass Roots Strategies!

Local Town Hall Meetings

Many legislators hold Town Hall meetings – it’s a great chance to get our message out to them! Watch your local paper for meetings held by your legislator. Contact the district office to find out when your Congressman will be back in the district and ask if you can make an appointment to see him. If you want assistance at this appointment, please Contact Us.

Face-to-face opportunities are a great chance to let them know how important this legislation is to our programs and patients!

We have held these workshops in the past, and if there are enough interested programs, we will hold one again, possibly in Spring 2007. Please Contact Us if you are interested. Make sure your program meets the AACVPR guidelines - we can help you with the process!