PRIME  FACTORS

Official publication of

THE SOUTH DAKOTA SOCIETY OF

RADIOLOGIC TECHNOLOGISTS

Affiliated with the American Society of Radiologic Technologists

Winter 2006

 

 

From the President:

Tom Davis

 

Dear SDSRT members,

 

I hope this letter finds everyone happy and healthy and survived thru another Holiday season. The weather has been rather kind to us so far and for those of us that golf an itch has begun as we walk past the golf clubs sitting in the garage! I even took advantage of a recent warm day and took my motorcycle out for a short ride (“fix”) but when I pulled it back into the garage and parked it beside the snow blower it was a sobering reminder that here in SD winter can still blindside us and it may be the snow blower I will be pulling out next.

 

The SDSRT has been quite busy since the last time I addressed you. We sent out the membership renewal applications and the mail ballots along with a survey wanting feedback from our membership in regards to the future locations of the Annual Conference. For those of you that faithfully renewed their membership, joined new, voted and responded to the survey, we sincerely thank you! Your enrollment and involvement is vital to this society.

 

We had our winter board meeting in January at MTI in Mitchell where, among many things, we were able to work with LeAnn and Jill on updating and revamping our SDSRT website, finalized plans for RT in DC, and the national conference in Denver – which I encourage everyone to attend since this is the international conference which is a rare opportunity plus it being so close to us is an added bonus.

 

In the beginning of Feb, six of us testified before the Health & Human Services Committee in Pierre to try and get our X-ray Bill through. It was an awesome experience, and through a grant we received from the ASRT, we were able to offer the students from all of our radiology schools the opportunity to attend this hearing and observe this process first hand. I am extremely impressed with the turn out that we received and I am very proud of these students and those that took them there. The people at the Capital building were very impressed with the show of support for this hearing. I hope these students got a taste of what the SDSRT does on behalf of its members and I would love to see some (all would be better) of them stirred enough to be the future board members of the SDSRT!  Unfortunately the bill did not pass, but was tabled until next year. It is difficult to get a bill passed the first year, but with the testimonies and evidence we presented we really thought we had a chance. Oh well, we have a year to sharpen our swords, fix the kinks in our armor and prepare for the battle again. We feel great progress was made nonetheless, many eyes were opened, and experiences gained. We will succeed and SD will have an x-ray bill!

 

In closing I would like to remind everyone to begin making their plans for this year’s Annual Conference being held in Pierre, May 4-6th. Make room reservations etc, and I also encourage students and techs alike to enter a scientific paper and share your knowledge and win some money!! I am looking forward to a wonderful event and hope to see you all there.

 

Please feel free to contact me with any issues, concerns, complaints or comments. I have been truly blessed with the many new people I have meet this past year and hope it doesn’t end any time soon!

 

Sincerely;

 

Tom Davis RT(R)(CT)

SDSRT President

 

From the Chairman:

Karen Otterberg

 

 

Hello everyone!

 

The holidays are over, and 2006 is off and running with our licensure bill being introduced in the state legislature.  We have some wonderful people working toward this goal.  Phyllis Heineman, representative from Sioux Falls, introduced the bill.  Several technologists and students from all over the state made the trip to Pierre for the committee hearing.  Sharon Wartenbee, Tom Davis, Susan Calmus, and Jill Schultz did a great job of testifying for the bill.  Unfortunately, the bill was “tabled” in committee, but we hope that next year we can get every technologist in the state to help by contacting their local senators and representatives in support of the bill.

 

The board held their winter meeting on January 21st. We met in Mitchell and had our webmaster attend to give us much needed help with our website.  They are fantastic and I want to thank them very much for what they do for us.  Hopefully, our communication to you, our members, will be much improved in 2006.

 

We are currently searching for someone to be the executive secretary for the SDSRT.  This is a paid position, and we will be awarding a two year contract to that person.  This person should be dedicated to out organization, and should be willing to spend several hours a month on their duties.  Please think about applying for this position, we would love to have you on board with us.  The position description in on the website under “special announcement”.  We look forward to hearing from you.

 

The technologists in Pierre are working very hard to prepare this years’ conference, which is being held at the Ramkota in Pierre on May 4-6th.  We are looking forward to a fun and informative meeting.  I hope that everyone is planning on attending.

 

Hope everyone is having a great 2006 so far!

Karen Otterberg, RT(R)(M)

SDSRT Chairman of Board

 

 

 

 

Hearing report:

By Sharon Wartenbee

 

On Friday morning, February 3, 2006, a hearing was held at the State Capitol in Pierre regarding HB 1105, legislation setting education and credentialing standards for individuals performing radiographic imaging examinations in South Dakota.  At this hearing the 13 legislative members of the Health and Human Services Committee listened to testimony and voted on whether or not to send HB 1105 to the full House Legislative floor for debate and voting.

 

Tom Davis, Jill Schultz, Sue Calmus, and Sharon Wartenbee, representing SDSRT, testified in favor of the bill while the South Dakota Association of HealthCare Organizations (SDAHO) and the South Dakota Medical Association testified against the bill.  After two hours of  testimony the committee voted 9-4 to "table" the bill for this legislative session. For a full audio portion of the testimony go to: http://legis.state.sd.us/index.aspx and click on "current legislative session," then on "bills," then on "quick find," type in "1105," go down to "schedule for committee hearing on this date," and click on the icon to the right of it. The testimony speaks for itself!!   It is also on argusleader.com  Follow the directions.

 

Thank you for al of your dedication, support, and commitment.  With your help, we will get it done in 2007!!  We will not give up.

  

Sharon Wartenbee, R.T.(R)(BD), CDT

Legislative Chairman, SDSRT

 

 

 

ASRT Delegate Report

By Beth Weber

 

ASRT ballot for officers and delegates will be available on line www.asrt.org February 1, 2006.  Please encourage your coworkers to review the candidates profiles and VOTE, their voice counts.  I am proud to see individuals from our state and region on the ballot.

 

I am planning to attend RT/DC March 11-14 and promote the federal minimum standards of the CARE and RAD CARE bills.

 

Delegates and officers from the region will meet to discuss changes in the ASRT By-Laws and proposed resolutions on April 1st in St. Paul, I plan to attend.

 

  International Society of Radiologic Technologists ISRRT 14th World Congress hosted by 2006 ASRT/AERS Annual Conference will be
June 9-13, 2006 at the Adam's Mark Hotel, Denver.  This years conference theme is One Community.  This should be an exciting meeting and I encourage educators to promote the profession and encourage their students to attend.  We have not had an International l meeting this close to South Dakota.

 

I have been assisting in the draft of the State of South Dakota Radiologic Technology Bill. 

 

These certainly are exciting times.  We have an opportunity to make history in our profession with everyone's unified support!  I appreciate the opportunity to represent our state and thank you for allowing me to be an ASRT delegate.

 

If anyone has any questions or comments please contact me.

 

beth.weber@medcath.com  or vinceweber@svtv.com

 

 

Life Member Scholarship Update

 

We received one application for our 2 - $500 scholarships.  The scholarship will be awarded at the annual conference banquet.

 

By Laws Committee

 

Becky Kruse at the ASRT office has reviewed our Bylaws and proposed changes.  She has made suggestions that will align our Bylaws with those of  the ASRT.   Tom Davis, Allen Croat and myself are reviewing the document Becky returned to us.  We will have the Bylaws ready to post on the SDSRT website by February 1.  Our Bylaws require we give our membership  30 days advance notice prior to voting at our annual conference.  I request that we post the proposed Bylaws on the website, send out a blast e-mail to SDSRT members with a read only copy of the Bylaws, and plan to discuss Bylaw changes at our 1st business meeting with discussion of rationales.  We will vote to accept the Bylaws at the 2nd business meeting.