With hospitals now facing stiff penalties for excessive readmissions for COPD, pulmonary rehabilitation has been given a new lease on life, and next week is the perfect time to show off your program.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week kicks off on Sunday and runs through the 14th, so contact your local media and invite them to come out and see how your program is giving lives back to patients and helping hospitals combat the readmissions problem at the same time.
Our Local Public Relations is Effective Public Relations guidebook has all the tools you need to get started.
PR Week is also a great time to increase your own knowledge of COPD and other conditions that can benefit from your programs. The AARC has a wealth of resources for that too:
- The latest addition to our educational lineup is our Pulmonary Disease Educator Course. Debuting in a live session on Mar. 16-17 in Arlington, VA, the 12.45 CRCE multidisciplinary course is designed to provide you with all the tools you need to educate chronic respiratory disease patients.
- Emerging Roles for the Respiratory Therapist in Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency covers the hereditary form of COPD and carries 3.0 CRCEs.
- Developing a new program? Our Position Statement on Pulmonary Rehabilitation can serve as a short and to-the-point overview of what a PR program should entail.
- Developed in response to ongoing problems with Medicare reimbursement under the PR benefit, our Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program Toolkit provides the guidance you need to accurately report your charges to Medicare
The AARC keeps you connected to your PR colleagues as well. Our Continuing Care/Rehabilitation Section gives you the chance to network with your peers from across the country via a dedicated discussion list on AARConnect, and the section also supports a quarterly Bulletin with articles written especially for section members, plus a monthly email newsletter with the latest scientific evidence supporting PR and the patients you serve.
So whether you capture some media coverage for your program next week, use the occasion to upgrade your team’s skills, or just take time out for a special outing with your patients, get out and celebrate Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week!
Email newsroom@aarc.org with questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you.
