PA Junia "Juju" Kairys, and her husband, Dan Kairys, a surgeon, were working at the Project Medishare Triage Center at the United Nations compound at the airport in Port-au-Prince. The Palm Beach Post chronicled some of the couple's  relief work in a story and video. Read and watch here.

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your prayers while my husband and I were in Haiti. We are back safe at home. Words can not explain the horrific scenes seen there. We did little that we could have done from amputation with general anesthesia and no oxygen to wound cleaning with no local anesthesia. It was terrible for the patients. We will be returning again, we will keep you guys posted. Below is a link on a story of us while in Haiti. 

Thank you, JuJu

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius Thursday, July 30, provided the down payment for a nationwide effort to reduce health care associated infections in stand-alone or same-day surgical centers. The first effort will begin later this month in 12 states under provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).

“Keeping patients healthy is one of the requirements of the Recovery Act, and the first 12 states that have volunteered to focus attention on these surgical centers are taking a giant step in helping to reduce infections that affect millions of patients every year,” said Secretary Sebelius. “CMS’s efforts with states to reduce the number of infections quickly are just one part of protecting the health of the nation’s health care system.”

Increasingly, health care delivery is being shifted to outpatient settings such as ambulatory care facilities, long term care facilities, and free standing specialty care sites. The number of ambulatory surgical centers has grown dramatically and continues to increase. ASCs account for 43 percent of all same-day surgery in the United States, amounting to about 15 million procedures every year.

Read more about HHS' action plan to prevent health care associated infections here.

August Recess

Members of Congress have left steamy Washington, D.C., to campaign for re-election and attend their national party conventions. They'll be back after Labor Day. This gives you about a month to talk with your legislators about health care reform, fixing Medicare, and other issues. Give 'em a call. Check the AAPA Legislative Action Center for background information.

Sounds Like a Good Idea

Two key Senate committee chairmen (Max Baucus, D-MT and Kent Conrad, D-ND) introduced S.3408, a bill to fund comparative effectiveness research on which health care services work and which ones don't. Wyoming Republican Senator Mike Enzi has a new bill, S.3354, that would protect health care providers, including PAs, from liability when they volunteer at charity clinics and community health centers. It also assures that injured patients can recover damages when malpractice occurs. The program is modeled on one that has been working in Florida and 8 other states.

There is bipartisan support for a non-binding resolution in the House (H. Res. 1381) that encourages an increased federal commitment to preventing chronic disease. And lawmakers in both chambers have introduced legislation that would give federal grants for prescription drug education and outreach (known as "academic detailing"). The pharmaceutical industry says phooey!

Funds for PA Programs

Congress hasn't had much luck passing appropriations bills to keep the government running in FY09, which starts October 1. Instead of trying to pass 13 separate measures, it looks like they will pass a continuing resolution that does not expire until the new Congress is in place. That may or may not mean there will be a larger pot of money for which PA programs can submit competing grant applications next year. AAPA continues to lobby for increased funding.

Health IT

PA programs can get grants to develop curricula integrating health information technology in PA clinical education, according to HR 6357, a bill approved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee on July 23. Don't celebrate yet. The measure is far from passage. Everyone wants help paying for and maintaining electronic medical records, but other problems include the fact that the systems aren't standardized. There are also issues of privacy, security, and a shortage of software that meets the needs of various specialties. Still a work in progress, I'd say.

PAs for a Healthy America: Vote 2008

Don't forget to visit our advocacy page. There are fun new features since the last time you looked.

During a recent Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) meeting, the commission voted to award provisional accreditation to the following PA programs:

* Keiser University PA Program in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

* University of Pittsburgh PA Program in Pittsburgh, Pa.

* University of the Cumberlands PA Program in Williamsburg, Ky.

* Franklin Pierce University PA Program in West Lebanon, N.H. 

* South University - Tampa PA Program in Tampa, Fla.

In addition, the ARC-PA Commission voted to award accreditation to the following postgraduate PA programs:

* Arrrowhead Orthopedics Physician Assistant Program in Colton, Calif.

* Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program in Phoenix, Ariz.

Congratulations to the new programs and those involved in their development. Unfortunately, effective Sept. 25, 2009, Louisiana's Our Lady of the Lake College and Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia voluntarily surrendered their PA program accreditation with ARC-PA. Alderson-Broaddus was first college in the nation to offer a baccalaureate degree in PA students in 1968. 

To see a list of accredited entry level programs, go online to ARC-PA.