Page 20 - OPTA Access September 2017 Volume 45, Issue 2

PTA Caucus Report
Sanaz Holcomb, PTA – PTA Caucus Representative
Greetings and happy summer to all
my friends and colleagues from the Northeast! Hope everyone is enjoying their summer as the warmer temperatures have arrived. The PTA caucus de nitely warmed up at the national conference with meeting new people while catching up with PTAs on Saturday June 17 in Boston. We continued
our discussion on the succession of chapters and sections
that have passed the full PTA vote, while strategizing how to continue our efforts until we have 100% full PTA vote across the country Currently we are at 33 chapters and eight sections
The chapters that have passed the full vote, including Ohio, will continue assisting other chapters and sections in providing bene ts of having this privilege to assist them in achieving this goal One of the most important and continued efforts of the PTA caucus every year continues to be improving PTA membership As we discussed our challenges, we have noticed a number of strategies to help improve our PTA membership Although our PTA student rate tends to increase, our most drop off is noted at the second-year post graduation We need to strengthen our efforts in teaching and encouraging our new professionals to maintain their membership as it is extremely important in keeping our profession strong within the APTA Our continued efforts are to increase understanding of what our membership brings to the association, speci cally to PTA practice which will help clinicians understand why their membership is a crucial aspect in protecting our profession
A perfect example of how our membership has bene ted us
is this recent update from the APTA regarding TRICARE As you all are aware, this is one insurance carrier that has not been reimbursing for PTA services properly. On June 28,
the House Committee on Armed Services marked up the
FY18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) APTA has been working with several Congressional of ces to include language that would compel TRICARE to recognize physical therapist assistants and occupational therapy assistants
After negotiations between Representatives Ralph Abraham (R-LA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), and the committee staff,
report language was drafted and passed as part of an en-bloc package of amendments and added to the NDAA legislation.
The language directs the Secretary of Defense to submit
a report to the committee outlining the process used by the departments to include para health professionals as healthcare providers in the military health system by April 1, 2018 This review shall determine how to incorporate PTAs, OTAs, and other para health professionals This move is an important
rst step forward that we hope will ultimately lead to coverage of PTAs under TRICARE. Your membership is what makes these efforts possible. Various task forces are formed, made of volunteers, to take these challenges in hopes of achieving our goals such as payment for PTA treatments as stated above
The PTA caucus discussed various directives to continue encouraging APTA membership including teaching employers of bene ts of having 100% membership by getting CEU discounts along with increase overall professional growth
as with APTA membership, therapists are better informed
of evidence-based practice which is the best practice We
will continue to educate employers that by reimbursing membership, they will encourage continued learning and improved professionalism in their practice Another avenue
to encouraging improvement of membership is to keep
our therapists informed of all the bene ts including various discounts to commonly used businesses, including insurance discounts, of ce supply discounts, running shoe discounts, which are amongst many available
It is great to see how many new graduates are taking advantage of the discounted APTA membership when
they graduate as APTA members without any lapse in their membership One of the most important ways to continue the young professional’s membership is to engage them and encourage them to become more active within their district/ chapter As your PTA caucus rep, I continue to advocate for increasing APTA membership within the PTAs in Ohio Not only do I advocate but I personally continue to visit three to four programs yearly, giving the bene ts of belonging talk and encouraging students to join their district for continued development and engagement. I encourage all of you to take part in increasing membership so that we can guarantee continued success in our chosen profession
The PTA caucus has a more prominent voice in the APTA as we now have representation at the APTA board meetings which is a huge stepping stone for us! We will continue to show our efforts in being the PTs primary choice of provider not only in the clinic but working alongside them at the national level in the APTA
I encourage all of you to set a goal in 2017 to help develop your own personal growth in the clinic by taking an extra CEU and at membership level, by recruiting one student/clinician to become an APTA member this year! Just imagine how strong our voice can be if we increase our membership by even 50%!
I thank you for your continued membership and involvement in the OPTA #wearebettertogether #pt/ptateam
For more information, contact Sanaz at:
sanazarmand@yahoo com
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Committee and SIG Reports