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A message from the President | CSRC Regarding COVID-19

A message from the President:

Dear California RT Manager,

The AARC is currently revising the Uniform Reporting Manual for 2020 but in order to do so, they need YOUR help! By providing information about the procedures conducted in your hospital, you will help the AARC develop statistically valid time standards that will form the foundation of a productivity system. These nationally validated time standards are the only valid metric to use to determine RT staff productivity and ultimately, the number of clinical FTEs.

Now more than ever we need to establish the AARC URM as the 'national standard' for productivity. Once they have a sufficient number of surveys completed, it will be their primary focus to communicate this 'national standard' not just to you as an RT leader, but also to healthcare executives and consultants. Many, if not most, of these stakeholders are not aware of the URM or dismiss it since it because not enough data was obtained.

Please take the time to complete the survey. It doesn’t even have to be completed by you - feel free to have one of your team leaders complete it if they have the knowledge to do so. The important part is that someone completes it and does so as soon as possible! The survey period has been extended to accommodate the competing demands for your time. By clicking on the below link, you will find more detail about the survey and the timeline target to complete the survey.

To participate, please click on this link:

https://www.aarc.org/resources/tools-software/aarcs-6th-edition-of-the-uniform-reporting-manual/

(Note: You will likely need to register as a new user - the link to do so is below the “Log In” button)

I understand that everyone has their hands full managing the current pandemic, however the URM can be used as a tool to justify staff during times like this. The AARC has streamlined the survey process through the on-line tool to minimize the time it will take. Thank you for contributing to the science of respiratory care management and thank you for your continued commitment to the patients, families, and communities we serve!

Kindly Requesting,
Wayne A. Walls, MBA, RRT-ACCS, RRT-NPS, RCP
President
California Society for Respiratory Care

CSRC Regarding COVID-19

California has become a part of the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. We now have cases which are not related to travel, but through community transmission. Federal, State and Local governments are imposing strategies upon the population to minimize transmission, largely through social distancing. In alignment with government mandates, the CSRC has canceled all of its public meetings through June 2020. This includes:

• Region Meetings
• Social Events
• Student Nights
• Sputum Bowls
• CEU Events
• State Convention in Pechanga

Once we receive notice that we can resume our normal activities, we will post announcements to the website and through our social media platforms. We recognize that California RCPs rely heavily upon CEUs provided by the CSRC. We are assembling new online courses which will help support you in keeping up with your CEUs. In the meantime, we encourage you to go to AARC.org for CRCE courses and credit.

As respiratory health professionals, we are on the front lines and trenches in battling this disease. As the crisis continues to develop, we strongly urge everyone to remain calm, compassionate, and flexible, letting common sense and science guide our actions. The medias (news media and social media) are overwhelming all of us with information, some of which is incorrect and misrepresented. This is fueling tensions, fears, and panic among the public.

For that reason, the aim of the CSRC is to provide current, reliable and accurate information to our members, the respiratory health community, and the public. We are closely monitoring and scrutinizing what is posted to the CSRC social media platforms, the Pneusbrief, and on our website.

For those that have come to the CSRC seeking information regarding the COVID-19 outbreak, we acknowledge that the CSRC cannot keep up with the latest development and practices which are evolving daily. So, we are redirecting you to the following sites;

World Health Organization (WHO)

              https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Centers for Disease Control (CDC)

              https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

California Department of Public Health (CDPH)

https://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/cid/dcdc/pages/immunization/ncov2019.aspx

California Thoracic Society (CTS) has created a CTS COVID-19 guideline/outpatient office policy that can be adopted at any institution (community and academic). The document provides insight into the prevention of COVID-19 in addition to testing and billing codes.

              https://calthoracic.org/cts-covid19-guidance/

American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC)

              https://www.aarc.org/nn20-covid-19-news-resources/

We thank you for visiting our website and encourage all of you to stay safe by practicing good pulmonary and hand hygiene in your workplace and daily lives. We are in this together and look forward to seeing all of you once this has passed.

#RTSTRONG on the Front Lines of COVID-19