CAAHEP Communiqué April 2013

In the April 2013 Issue

Board Approves New Standards

From the President

Commissioner News

CAAHEP Board Meeting Highlights

AAMA Conducts Contest

NASEMSO Seeks Input

NN2 Launches National Research Project

Accreditation Actions

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Two new posts were added to the CAAHEP Blog in February and March. Your comments are welcome!

Board Approves New Standards

The Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring were approved by the CAAHEP Board of Directors at its March 2013 meeting. The new Standards are posted on the CAAHEP Website.

CAAHEP Board Meeting Schedule

The CAAHEP Board of Directors takes accreditation actions six times per year (Jan., Mar., May, July, Sept., and Nov.). The following are the remainder of the 2013 meeting dates:

May 17, 2013 Conference Call

July 17-18, 2013 Boston, MA

Sept. 20, 2013 Conference Call

Nov. 15, 2013

Conference Call

CAAHEP Annual Meeting

Next Week

Finishing touches are being put on the CAAHEP Annual Meeting agenda scheduled for April 14-15, 2013, at the beautiful Francis Marion Hotel in Charleston, South Carolina. See the Annual Meeting page on the CAAHEP website for the all the final agenda.

Recent Graduate Testimonial Video

A must see:

Recent Graduate Commissioner Katie (Bowe) Lukovich produces a Student Testimonial Video on attending a CAAHEP-accredited program.

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From the President

Cameron Harris,
RPSGT

Pondering the theme of this year's Annual Meeting of CAAHEP Commissioners, "Using the Past to Shape the Future," causes me to drift into reverie of my more fanciful days bounding forth from the imaginary South Carolina swamp in the empty lot down the street from my house (in Wisconsin). Adorned in my grandfather's old fedora fashioned into a tricorn, with fox tail attached, my destination is Charleston (which closely resembles my neighbor Gary's yard) where I intend to disrupt the activities of Colonel Tarleton (aka Gary) and his Redcoats. My youthful fascination with the "Swamp Fox" was stimulated by the early 1960's episodes on Disney's "The Wonderful World of Color" based upon the namesake of the Francis Marion Hotel. Even though I have never physically been in Charleston, SC, I feel connected with the historical city. There won't be time for daydreaming on this trip, however, with a day and a half of interesting presentations, stimulating discussions and, of course, our Commissioners meeting.

In addition to its key role in the American Revolution, Charleston is known as the site where the first shots of the American Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861, when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter. No parallel can be drawn between CAAHEP and the Civil War or artillery bombardment, but the governance structure of CAAHEP can be described as a confederacy. An alliance between distinct parties, organizations or states for some common purpose, confederacy provides a form of joint governance for a specific set of joint purposes, while allowing each "confederate" the autonomy to pursue their own specialized interests. CAAHEP provides the necessary broad governance to advance academic quality, demonstrate accountability, encourage self-scrutiny and planning, employ fair and appropriate procedures and demonstrate ongoing review of practice, and to possess sufficient resources to carry out our accreditation processes. Receiving the benefits, but relieved of these responsibilities, CAAHEP "confederates" are free to fulfill the interests of their own specialized communities of interest.

Events in recent history will help shape CAAHEP's future as the premier agency for programmatic accreditation. On January 1, 2013, CAAHEP became the single accreditor for the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) profession. The heroic efforts of the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the Emergency Medical Services Professions (CoAEMSP) and their colleagues are worthy of recognition. Here is the story.

A series of consensus documents sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration and over 30 EMS related organizations culminated in the publication of "Emergency Medical Services at the Crossroads" in 2007 by the Institute of Medicine. The "Crossroads" publication called for a single national educational accrediting agency and a single national certifying agency for the EMS professions. These seminal documents provided the impetus in 2008 for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT), with support of the National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), to require completion of a CAAHEP accredited program to qualify for EMS certification exams.

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Commissioner News

At its March meeting, the CAAHEP Board approved the reappointment of two Commissioners. Cheryl Oliver will serve as the Hospital-Based Programs Commissioner, and John Padgett will continue his role as the Proprietary Institutions Commissioner. In addition, two At-Large Commissioners were selected by the Board: Keith Monosky and Linda Kerwin.

Watch for more election news following the Commissioners' Annual Meeting next week.

CAAHEP Board Meeting Highlights

The CAAHEP Board met via conference call on March 15, 2013, and the following is a synopsis of Board actions and activities:

The Board took accreditation action on 100 programs
Refinements to the Board-CoA Liaison Role and Selection Policy were approved.
Upon recommendation by the CAAHEP Standards Committee, the new Intraoperative Neurophysiologic Monitoring Standards were approved.
Updates on the following special projects were provided: Outcomes Subcommittee, Marketing Task Force, Nominating and Elections Committee, Board Orientation, and ASPA Scholarships.
The Board approved the nominee for the CAAHEP Exceptional Service Award.
The Board voted on the elections of At-Large Commissioner positions, as well as the Hospital-Based Commissioner and Proprietary Institutions Commissioner.
The Board approved the Council on Occupational Education's request that CAAHEP will accept COE's pre-accreditation status as satisfying Section 1 of the CAAHEP Standards (sponsorship) for those institutions that are giving up NCA CASI accreditation.

Should you have any question regarding the CAAHEP Board of Directors meeting, please contact Kathleen Megivern.

AAMA Conducts a Video and Essay Contest for Medical Assistant Students

CAAHEP sponsoring organization, the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), is conducting a video and essay contest for medical assisting students attending a CAAHEP accredited program. Students may enter the "I want to be a Medical Assistant because..." contest by producing a short video or submitting an essay. The prize is $500. Deadline for submissions is July 1, 2013. For more information on the contest's criteria please see the AAMA website.

NASEMSO Seeks Input on the Model EMS Clinical Guidelines Project

The National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO), a CAAHEP sponsoring organization, is seeking public input on the NASEMSO Model EMS Clinical Guidelines Project. The goal of this collaborative effort is to develop a basic set of model EMS clinical guidelines for emergency medical service providers based on the most current standards of practice and evidence. The guidelines will be offered as an optional model for state, regional and local EMS systems to adopt, in full or in part. Model EMS clinical guidelines could promote uniformity and quality of pre-hospital care, improve EMS data collection efforts, assist state, regional and local guideline development and promote nationwide consistency and mobility among EMS providers.

For additional information on the project and to submit your input by May 10, 2013, please visit the Model EMS Clinical Guidelines Project webpage.

NN2 Launches National Research Project

The National Network of Health Care Programs in Two-Year Colleges (NN2), a CAAHEP sponsoring organization, has launched Project Future Care, a national research project, which will establish a strong baseline dataset regarding the actual number of students who make application to Health Career Programs and those accepted into programs. This will give leaders a true understanding of the potential impact on the future workforce.

NN2 will collect data from community college health professions programs and students enrolled in those programs, as well as information on emerging trends in healthcare education at two-year colleges.

The results of this study will provide Community College Health Career program leaders and policy makers with best practices from peer institutions and identify possible barriers to be addressed that may improve successful completion rates. This research will also provide workforce and industry partners with accurate data regarding the number of students expected in the job market.

NN2 is encouraging community college health professions deans and directors to participate in the survey. If your community college has not received a link to the survey, you can email a request for the link.

Accreditation Actions

The following programs achieved CAAHEP accreditation at the March 15, 2013, Board of Directors meeting. Where possible, there are links directly to each program's website.

Please note that an earlier version of the Communiqué listed the Indiana University School of Medicine's Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic program in two places; once in the list of programs receiving continuing accreditation and once in the list of programs being placed on probation. The Indiana University School of Medicine's Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic program is not and has never been on probation. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

Cardiovascular Technology

Initial

Sanford-Brown College-Hillside, Adult Echocardiography, Hillside, IL (Associate)

Cytotechnology

Continuing

Cabell Huntington Hospital, Huntington, WV (Baccalaureate)

University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL (Certificate) (Masters)

University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, PR (Certificate)

Diagnostic Medical Sonography

Continuing

Chattanooga State Community College, Chattanooga, TN (General, Cardiac, Vascular) (Certificate)

Community College of Rhode Island, Warwick, RI (General, Cardiac, Vascular) (Associate)