Newsletter – March 2019

Annual Conference News

Join us! The 2019 Annual Conference program will encompass a full spectrum of asthma-related topics from strategies for motivational interviewing, trigger recognition and home visitation programs, to biologics and genetics, as we continue to knit the web of care and information that delivers better education for patients and families living with asthma. LEARN MORE OR REGISTER NOW

Conference Image

AGENDA
Location:

Buffalo Grand Hotel
120 Church St, Buffalo, NY 14202

To make hotel reservations, please contact the hotel directly at: 716-845-5100

GUEST ROOM RATES:
Single Rate: $129.00
Double Rate $129.00
Triple Rate $149.00
Quad Rate $149.00

Please contact the Hotel directly at 716-845-5100 to make reservations. Contact the hotel at least thirty (30) days (May 5, 2019) prior to your arrival date and identify themselves as part of the Association of Asthma Educators’ Conference and provide your name, requested type of room, check-in and check-out dates. Any requests for special room arrangements should be indicated at the time of booking. The Hotel does not confirm reservations in writing.

2019 Board of Directors are Hard at Work

Executive Committee:

President
Mona Tsoukleris PharmD, MS, RPh

Immediate Past President
C. Michael Bowman MD, PhD

President-Elect
Michael Shoemaker AE-C, MBA, BHA, RRT-NPS

Vice President
Melinda Shuler AE-C, BSBA, RCP, RRT, CTTS, HHS,

Treasurer
Teresa Summe AE-C, BS, RRT

Secretary
Lynne Abbott AE-C, MSN, RN

Board of Directors:

  • Dewey Hahlbohm PA-C, AE-C
  • Jared Rice AE-C, MBA, BSN, BSRT, RRT-NPS, RPFT
  • Tracy Marquette AE-C, RRT
  • Sharon Lemley RN, AE-C
  • Leroy Graham MD, FCCP
  • Julio Rebolledo AE-C, PharmD

Welcome New Members!

We’d like to welcome the large number of new members to our organization! We are excited at the pace we are growing. Some of you have come to us as part of your registration for our conference or having attended one of our satellite courses. Others are community health workers (or other professionals) seeking to increase your knowledge about asthma education. Many have come to us through resources with NAECB, as we are one of their verified sources of asthma specific education. Welcome one and all!

As new members, you might be wondering, “Now what?”
we have a range of ways that you can help strengthen the organization. The simplest way is to spread the word:

  • Forward our emails, newsletters and updates to colleagues
  • Nominate a colleague as an Asthma Educator of the Month
  • Share the news about our annual conference
  • Like and follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Share our posts!

Assisting our committees:

  • If you have recently taken the NAECB certification exam, we would like to hear from you. Contact Tracy Marquette: tracymarquette.la@gmail.com
  • If you are a pharmacist, or related profession, please contact Mona Tsoukleris: mtsoukle@rx.umaryland.edu
  • If you have experience in asthma education in schools, we’d love to connect with you! Contact Melinda Shuler: Melinda.Shuler@msj.org

Call for Research/ Project Posters

The Association of Asthma Educators invites submission of research/project poster abstracts related to any aspect of asthma diagnosis, management or education. Submissions will be peer reviewed by a conference committee panel and selected authors will be invited to present a poster at the Association of Asthma Educators (AAE) annual conference in Buffalo, New York. The meeting will be held at the Adams Mark Buffalo Niagara on June 7 – 9, 2019. The poster session is scheduled the afternoon of Friday, June 7, 2019.

You do not have to be a member of AAE to submit an abstract. However, if accepted, the presenting author must be registered for the AAE meeting. Authors will be responsible for poster printing, travel, lodging, and other expenses. Submission Form WORD

The three “top” scoring submissions will be invited to present their work in an oral podium presentation as well as a poster presentation during the conference. Both sessions are scheduled for Friday, June 7, 2019. The presenting author of one highest scoring abstract will be provided with free registration for the 2020 conference.

Notification of Acceptance

Abstracts should be submitted electronically using the form provided in this document to Mona Tsoukleris at mtsoukle@rx.umaryland.edu no later than 4/15/19 at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time. Acknowledgement of receipt will be sent via email to the corresponding author. If you have not received an acknowledgement of receipt by April 16th at 11:59 pm, please contact AAE by telephone 610-772-0661 immediately. The corresponding author shall be responsible for confirming receipt. Abstracts received after the April 15th deadline will not be reviewed. Abstracts that do not follow the Submission Guidelines may be returned without review.

Notification of acceptance will be sent to the corresponding author by May 15, 2019 11:59 pm. The corresponding author shall be responsible for confirming receipt of notification of acceptance or non-acceptance and informing other contributing authors. Please contact Mona Tsoukleris immediately if an email is not received by May 16, 2019.

Deadline for submissions: 11:59 PM EST April 15, 2019

Allergy and Asthma Day on Capitol Hill

Allergy & Asthma Day

Thinking about taking the AE-C exam?

NAECBConsider applying for the E. Ellis Scholarship. Take Your Skills to the Next Level! Become a Certified Asthma Educator! Created in memory of Elliot F. Ellis, MD, who was instrumental in supporting AAE during the creation of the organization in 1998, this scholarship is available to AAE members in good standing who are seeking to obtain initial certification as a certified asthma educator (AE-C) through the NAECB.

Scholarship Award amount: $325 and provides a Mentor!

Check out our web site with the information and application!

Take the next step! Let us know how we can help!

More information and the application: E. Ellis Scholarship Application page.

NAECB News

From the latest newsletter from NAECB:
“Why I Took the NAECB Exam”
Allan M. Wachter, MD, FAAAAI, FACAAI, FCCP, AE-C

Who in their right mind would voluntarily take a proctored standardized exam not required by their specialty? I am a Board Certified Allergist/Immunologist who is current in the MOC (Maintenance of Certification) Program of my specialty. I can tell you that approximately one percent of time-unlimited certified asthma specialists have voluntarily retaken their specialty exam. Most physicians do not voluntarily take recertification exams for various reasons. I sat for and studied for the NAECB 2018 exam. The NAECB exam is designed to assess one’s breadth of knowledge in outpatient “hands-on” asthma care. Controversy abounds on the predictive precision of standardized exams. Despite all the pro and con debates about standardized exams, no certifying national exam has been eliminated in the U.S. in over fifty years. Simply put, all statistically validated and standardized exams have been shown to be indicative of a certain level of competency…

Read More…

(Note: AE-C Certification is not a requirement for AAE membership.)

Consider Nominating Someone to Receive an AAE Asthma Advocate of the Month Award

asthma-advocate-month-pin_cropped (1)If you know anyone doing meaningful asthma work of any kind, you can nominate that person to receive this recognition. Each nominee will also receive a lapel pin as a token of our appreciation for his/her efforts. The recipient does not have to be an active member of the AAE. If you would like to nominate someone, please email srollins@oklahomaallergy.com with the person’s name, email address and a few sentences on why he/she deserves this recognition.

The AAE would like to congratulate the following for the Asthma Advocates of the Month award:

Julio Rebolledo, Pharm.D., BCPS, BC-ADM, AE-C Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy

We wish to recognize Julio for his dedication to improving asthma medication technique instruction and engagement in under-served communities. He is also a welcome addition to the AAE 2019 Board of Directors. Comments from Julio: “As a clinical pharmacist I work in collaboration with a group of primary care providers that provide care to the under-served where asthma and COPD are prevalent. As an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at Midwestern University Chicago College of Pharmacy, I teach pharmacy students the safe and effective use of medications including the use of inhalers. They also, learn how difficult it could be to learn to use multiple inhalers and how important it is to provide inhaler education to all our patients . My vision is to collaborate with the AAE and continue to improve the management of asthma by promoting self – management education among our patients and fostering an interdisciplinary team care approach that includes pharmacists.

New Committee Focused on Asthma Education in Schools

AAE’s New School/Child Care Committee:

Goal: Assure appropriate, population-based asthma care education, programs and resources for school-age children with asthma and parents of children with asthma. This committee is working to: improve asthma education for child care staff, school staff, school nurses, coaches, athletic trainers, parents, and patients; identify, design and disseminate appropriate patient and parent educational materials; provide strategies to be able to bill for asthma education; and publicize national, state and local asthma resources and initiatives.

This survey is being conducted by the Association of Asthma Educators Schools Committee. We are seeking your input to help AAE formulate services and resources that will help those who educate school-age children with asthma. We ask you to take approximately 5 minutes to answer the following 16 questions. When you answer each question, please provide your response from the perspective of your role at school and/or the child care center (CCC). Thank you. We appreciate your time and interest.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/School-childcare-AAE

Please feel free to share this survey with peers and/or other individuals that may work in this area of asthma. Please contact Melinda Shuler melinda.shuler@msj.org

Hot Topic

InhalerAn intriguing article was recently shared by CHEST:

School-age children with asthma who receive education on managing the condition may have fewer attacks, emergency room visits and hospitalizations than those who don’t get such classes, a recent study suggests.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Severe asthma attacks and breathing problems are associated with an increased risk of health problems like obesity as well as academic challenges like chronic absences from school and cognitive impairments that can lead to lower grades and test scores.

For the current study , researchers analyzed data from 33 prior studies that tested how well school-based asthma management programs help kids to avoid severe symptoms that can take a toll on their health and school performance.

All of these smaller studies included children with asthma from 5 to 18 years old, and randomly assigned some kids to get asthma education while others went without this instruction.

With the school-based asthma interventions, students were 30 percent less likely to visit the emergency room, suggesting they had fewer severe asthma attacks, researchers report in the journal Thorax.

READ MORE…

Advocacy

We encourage you to remain committed to local, regional and national asthma advocacy efforts! We hope that you will consider being active in the AAE. You are the front-line experts dealing with asthma education and outcomes. We seek your input and involvement to make our programs even more relevant and effective. Working together can make our voice stronger so that we can help shape the landscape of asthma care and education in the United States. Feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues and invite them to join the AAE!