Michael Gough, CCP
I
want to take the opportunity to thank you all for your attention during
the
WPS
business meeting. I may
have gotten a little long winded at times (give me the hook
next time Matt), but I think it was time well spent for all of us.
I was also very encouraged
by the responses I got from members who conveyed their conviction in supporting
the campaign and completing their legislative "To Do List".
There are two updates on the legislative campaign
that I have for the society. First
some the events surrounding the public hearing that took place on the
4th of April. A special
thanks goes out to Michael Harloff for his role in ensuring that Dr.
Muzi and Dr. Johnson were able to attend the hearing and testify on our
behalf. The two doctors
provided very articulate and compelling testimony.
We were extremely fortunate to have these two individuals convey
such thoughts as:
Dr.
Johnson.
"..I have traveled to over 50 countries across the world and
there is one person
whom
I make certain accompanies me, and that is my perfusionist.
There is no other
individual
in my surgical team more important than he."
Dr.
Muzi
Eluded to what a critical role perfusionists play in caring for
the patient and that our
he
not only counts on perfusionists to aid him in caring for the patient
now, but he
also
learned a great deal from the perfusion staff during his medical
school's clinical
rotations
(and still uses them as a resource).
We
were also fortunate enough to have Mr. David Mergen testify on our
behalf. Mr.
Mergen
had open-heart surgery by Dr. Johnson some three years ago and rounded
out
a nice panel of individuals publicly supporting our effort at the
hearing. He of
course,
also has another connection to perfusion - his son is Shawn Mergen - the
host of our latest Spring Meeting.
It
was also very important to see other perfusionists who were able to
attend the
meeting
in support - they should be identified as well:
Edward Murray - he got a little air-time with the National Public
Radio
Michael Harloff
Julie Nottestad
David Malkow
Finally,
I supplied more specific testimony to the committee on the state of
perfusion, our role in health care and the impact we have on the patient's well being.
I
thought our testimony went very well, but what made it all the better
was the
absence
of any opposition at the hearing. During
our last campaign, the DORL and the
Wisconsin Hospital Association testified in opposition.
We are continuing to work in
the DORL and their new secretary. We
have our lobbyist, Ron Hermes, to thank for
heading off the WHHA from testifying .... for the time being.
We are continuing communications
with the WHHA to allow us to illustrate the merits of the bill and convey
to them the non threatening aspects of the legislation.
A position of neutrality by
either or both of these entities would be considerable victories.
We did also receive
word, just prior to the hearing, from the State Medical Society of their
support of
our efforts - very good news!
The
final note I wanted to pass along to everyone is the creation of a
Campaign Log (in the forum section of our web page) for the membership
to keep up to speed on current developments in the legislative process. I will try to update it as frequently as possible.
Keep
up the lines of communication between the membership, myself and our
legislators!!
Hello
Everyone-
Just
a quick note to let you know that the Public Health Committee held their
executive vote on Wednesday the 18th for AB-256
(the bill licensing perfusionists). The result was 7 votes in favor with
0 votes in opposition.
That's great news! 7-0
If
your Representative is one of the committee members, I think it would be
appropriate for you to contact them and acknowledge their support.
Rep. Frank Urban, Chairman
Rep. Sheldon Wasserman
Rep. Terri McCormick
Rep. DuWayne Johnsrud
Rep. Spencer Coggs
Rep. Stephen Freese
Rep. Mary Ann Lippert
Rep. Timothy Carpenter - absent for vote, but verbally supports our
efforts
The
bill has officially been passed out of the standing committee and on to
the floor of the Assembly. But before it will reach the floor, it must
first go to the Joint Finance Committee due to it's fiscal impact
(>$10,000). I will let you know what the timeline is surrounding our
bill appearing Joint Finance. At this point there is a great deal of
uncertainty - due to the need for the budget to get passed first. The
budget is "scheduled" to be passed by the end of June (it took
until October in the last legislative session).
The
number of votes in support of our bill from the committee members makes
a strong statement. The standing committee is viewed as the
"experts" in the area that the bill would impact by the
Assembly as a whole. So when the vote goes to the floor, quite often the
representatives will look towards the committee vote for some degree of
guidance.
When
the bill goes to the floor of the Assembly for a vote, it will be
imperative for the membership to reach out to their Representative and
garner their support for our bill.
Keep
up the lines of communication and take comfort in the good news, but
realize this is only one victory with many more battles to come.
Sincerely,
Michael Gough
Chairman, Legislative Task Force
Wisconsin Perfusion Society
