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 newAd 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.