AARC Forms Ad Hoc Committee to Focus on Officer Status for Military RTs

		AARC Forms Ad Hoc Committee to Focus on Officer Status for Military RTs For Immediate Release IRVING, TX (March 24, 2005) – The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) has formed a new ad hoc committee that will work to acquire officer status for military RTs who hold a bachelor’s degree or above. The move grew out of previous efforts by the Association to work toward officer status for RTs that began prior to the 9-11 terror attacks on New York and Washington, DC. “We were working on this project just prior to 9-11 and had made progress with the Public Health Service,” explains AARC President John Hiser, MEd, RRT, FAARC. “Once we were attacked, of course, the focus of all of the services changed.” The Association believes the time is now right to revive the issue. “Respiratory therapists with bachelor’s degrees deserve the same respect and rank as those in other fields, particularly today, as many RTs are currently serving in Iraq and other places around the world where their services are much in demand to care for injured soldiers and civilian casualties,” says AARC Director of Government Affairs Jill Eicher. Hiser says the new Ad Hoc Committee on Officer Status for Respiratory Therapists in the US Uniformed Services will work with the Public Health Service and the various branches of the armed forces to educate officials on the role respiratory therapists play in the nation’s health care system, pointing up in particular that similar professionals, including nurses, physical therapists, and occupational therapists with bachelor’s degrees, are allowed officer status. “It is important that we receive the same recognition as other allied health and nursing professions,” says Hiser. “Officer status will also help with retention and recruitment of RTs into the military services.” The committee is being co-chaired by AARC members Tom McCarthy, RRT, and David Vines, MHS, RRT. Members include Colonel William N. Bernhard, MD; MSgt. Ray Machacon; TSgt. Scott Woodcox; and Allen Wentworth, MEd, RRT. Updates on the progress of the new committee will be reported on www.aarc.org as the year progresses. The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) is a not-for-profit, professional organization, consisting of 36,000 respiratory therapists, physicians, and other health care professionals. AARC is dedicated to assisting persons with respiratory diseases receive safe and effective respiratory care. ### Contact: Beth Binkley Binkley@aarc.org American Association For Respiratory Care 9425 N MacArthur Blvd, Suite 100, Irving, TX 75063 972-406-4657, 972-243-2272