Elections of CAAHEP Board Members were held at the meeting. Susan Muller was elected to fill a Committee on Accreditation position on the Board. She represents the Committee on Accreditation for Exercise Sciences. Re-elected to the Board were Susan Fuchs, Carolyn O'Daniel, Yasmen Simonian, and Thomas Skalko. 

 Two new Committees on Accreditation were voted on at the meeting and represent the two newest professions in CAAHEP. Welcome to the Committee on Accreditation for Art Therapy and the Committee on Accreditation for Assistive Technology. Along with the CoAs, the Commission approved two new sponsoring organizations. We welcome the American Art Therapy Association and RESNA (Rehabilitation Engineering & Assistive Technology Society of North America) were approved in April.

CAAHEP also gained a new Associate Member at the April meeting, the Coalition for Baccalaureate and Graduate Respiratory Therapy Education.  

Each year at its May meeting, the CAAHEP Board selects officers for the coming fiscal year. The following Board members will serve as officers beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016. 

President Thomas Skalko, PhD, LRT/CTRS, FDRT

Vice President Carolyn O'Daniel, EdD, RRT

Secretary Susan Fuchs, MD

Treasurer Barry Eckert, PhD, FASAHP

Dr. James Atkins & Marjorie Reif

There were two outstanding, long-time CAAHEP volunteers recognized at this year's Annual Awards Luncheon in Kansas City. Congratulations to James Atkins, MD, FAC C (ACC) and Marjorie Reif, M.Ed., PA-C, CMA, on receiving the CAAHEP Exceptional Service Award. 

"Dr. Jim Atkins has spent countless hours coming to CAAHEP meetings as a Commissioner and serving on the Board...Jim is a lifelong, steadfast, and true advocate of CAAHEP..." are just a few quotes from nomination letter for Dr. Atkins. He was first elected to the CAAHEP Board in 1999, as a Commissioner for what was then the Joint Review Committee on Education Programs for the EMT-Paramedic. He served on the Board for two terms, and later as a Board liaison to several CoAs. Dr. Atkins has been the representative from the American College of Cardiology, and also served as Treasurer of the CoAEMSP. He spent over 38 years teaching EMS students and guiding tuhe EMS program at the University of Texas-Southwestern. As one of the endorsement letters said, Dr. Atkins "has always had a special place in his heart for allied health and teaching, and we are all better and safer because of his exceptional service to CAAHEP and the EMS Profession." 

Ms. Reif has volunteered her expertise to CAAHEP on numerous levels. As her nomination letter states, "Marj has been an outstanding volunteer for educational accreditation...You only have to meet Marj once to see how infectious her enthusiasm can be and how treasured her attention to detail is." She was first elected to the CAAHEP Board of Directors in 2000. She was the Commissioner representing what was then the Curriculum Review Board (now called the Medical Assisting Education Review Board).She served as Chair of the CoA, and went on to serve two full terms on the CAAHEP Board. During her tenure on the Board, Marj served on and chaired several committees, including the Standards Committee, where her attention to detail was always appreciated. While on the Board, she began her service as the CAAHEP Board Liaison to NCOPE (National Commission on Orthotic and Prosthetic Education). She was so highly valued by NCOPE that when she rotated off as their Liaison, she was elected their Public Member in 2006. One of the letters of support for her nomination came from the then Chair of NCOPE who said, "Understanding the immense loss we were about to experience, we decided to "keep" her in any way we could." Ms. Reif continues to serve on the NCOPE Self-Study Review Committee and as a site visitor. In 2011, she was Chair of the NCOPE Policies and Procedures Committee. She was "instrumental in moving the O&P technician level under the CAAHEP system with the adoption of those Standards taking place in 2007." Ms. Reif went on to be the Liaison to the CoA for Exercise Science. 

It is with heartfelt gratitude that CAAHEP congratulates these two dedicated volunteers on receiving the 2015 CAAHEP Exceptional Service Award.

Two sets of Standards and Guidelines were approved at the May CAAHEP Board of Directors meeting. The Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Anesthesia Technology were approved and are posted on the CAAHEP website. 

The Standards and Guidelines for the Accreditation of Educational Programs in Emergency Medical Services Professions were also approved. These Standards will go into effect later this year, and will be posted on the CAAHEP website and announced at that time.

By all accounts, the 2015 Annual Meeting in Kansas City last month was a great success! There were numerous general sessions on a variety of pertinent topics, individual programs for the different types of attendees, and plenty of opportunity for all to network. 

CAAHEP thanks the line up of wonderful speakers, who presented at the Annual Meeting: Dr. Craig Tanio, Chief Medical officer, ChenMed; Cathy Carter, Robin Seabrook, and Michelle Hall, representing the Orthotic and Prosthetic profession; Elise Scanlon, Esq.; Dr. Marianne Krismer, National Director, Health Professions Pathways TAACCCT Consortium, Cincinnati State Technical and Community College; Michael Foss, Dean, School fo Health and Patient Simulation, Springfield Technical Community College; Dr. Cecilia Rokusek, NOVA Southeastern University; representatives from the Committees on Accreditation for Surgical Technology, Medical Assisting, Diagnostic Medical Sonography, and Emergency Medical Services Professions; and presenters from our newest professions Art Therapy and Assistive Technology.

The Annual Meeting would not have been a success without the hard work from the volunteers on the Program Planning Committee. Our deepest appreciation goes out to Carolyn O'Daniel, Chair, and members Michelle Hall, Jackie Long-Goding and Julie O'Sullivan Maillet. 

The following are just a few pictures captured from the 2015 Annual Meeting. Additional photos are posted on the CAAHEP Facebook page.

It's not too early to get the 2016 CAAHEP Annual Meeting on your calendar. Please join us April 10-11, 2016, in Memphis, Tennessee!