National Medical Laboratory Week April 24-30, 2005. For information on how to order official NMLW supplies, go to the News Page on this website.TACLS LogoTexas Association For Clinical Laboratory Science

         

TACLS CONVENTION 99

Cecile Sanders, TACLS Convention 99 Co-Chair

 If you weren’t one of the 400+ attendees, you missed an outstanding convention in Austin, March 24-26.  Dr. Red Duke kicked off the convention with a keynote address on Wednesday evening to a standing room only crowd.  His “Prescription for Stress” focused on his daily routine as a trauma surgeon and included many “outtakes” from his televised “Health Watch” spots.  His dry humor and Texas twang kept the audience in stitches. 

The program was one of the best ever and included topics in every discipline.  Because the convention was co-sponsored by CLMA, several scientific sessions on management, CLIA inspections, and Medicare reimbursement topics were held.   

Because of the limited interest from CLT programs across the state, no MLT Student Bowl was held.  The CLS programs, however, held a spirited competition with students from four programs.  First place was captured by M.D. Anderson, second went to the Methodist Hospital, Houston, and third place went to UT Southwestern.

 A Town Lake river boat dinner cruise was held on a chilly Thursday evening.  Although the bats had already flown their perches from beneath the Congress Avenue bridge, those on the boats enjoyed the sights of downtown Austin by night and the wonderful fajita buffet. 

The results of the election were announced.  Judy Baughman from McAllen was elected President-Elect.  Duncan Sam from Corpus Christi was elected Board Member-at-Large, and Cynthia Martine from Galveston was elected to the Nominations Committee.  Cheri Jennings of Houston was selected as TACLS Member of the Year and received a $500 award for the honor from Laura Driscoll of Olympus America.  Vicki Freeman from UTMB in Galveston was selected as Educator of the Year and was presented an Olympus camera from Olympus America.

 Delegates to the ASCLS Convention were elected at the House of Delegates, held on Friday.  Steve Speights, who attended the ASCLS Legislative Day as a TACLS representative, gave a detailed report.  The budget was approved for the next fiscal year.  Next year’s convention will be held in Dallas March 30-April 1. 

To those who attended, THANKS!  To those who didn’t, mark your calendars for next year in Dallas.  It’ll be too good to miss! 


Former TACLS Presidents
Camille St. John, Cecile Sanders, Ellen Sanderson, Bob Weir, Phil Kostroun, Debbie Faubion, Thomasine Newby 


M.D. Anderson Hospital Student Bowl Team
Mandy Hunsinger, Stephanie York, Karen McClure, Cheryl Osting, Melanie Stringer, Michelle Hedrick, Nancy Bannkson, La Morris Thompson


Methodist Hospital Houston Student Bowl Team
Renee Webb, Clint Shaw, Leslie Gerdes, Tatia Feltman, Deanna Forsell, Sanam Hussain, Anne Marie Daniel 


TACLS President Ellen Sanderson and Olympus America representative, Laura Driscoll.

 TACLS AWARDS CEREMONY

The following individuals were recognized at the TACLS Annual Meeting in Austin for their service to TACLS. 

H.A. Bardwell Award: Thomasine Newby

Board Service Award: Doramarie Arocha and John Wentz 

Presidential Merit Award: Debra Faubion and Cecile Sanders 

Special Commendations: TACLS Convention Committee:

Dave Falleur, Cecile Sanders, Kay Baitz, Phil Kostroun, Carolyn Ragland, Lou Caruana, Suzanne Calhoun, Diane Saegert, Jim Harris, Rita Broad, Bunny Salter, Gilbert Carrasco, and Terry Kotrla 

Membership Awards:

50 Years: Enid Davidson, Gale Gregory 

40 Years: Joan Muehlberger, Vera Berg 

30 Years: Anne Brindley, Lou Caruana, Madeline Ducate, Candy McNally, Sue Rowland, Shirley Stanford, Harold Wuthrich 

20 Years: Gail Ackall, Sylvia Dobson-Helpen, Jan Fouche, Catarina Hernandez, Cheri Jennings, David McGlasson, Jo McKelvey, Karen Redrow, Deborah Robison, Cindy Williford

 Member of the Year Sponsor: Fisher Healthcare 

TACLS Member of the Year: Cheri Jennings 

TACLS Educator of the Year: Vicki Freeman

 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AWARDS OVER ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN GRANT FUNDS TO UTMB’S CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCES DEPARTMENT FOR WEB-BASED EDUCATION

 Students interested in obtaining a baccalaureate degree in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (CLS) will be able to take classes anywhere in the world and at anytime they choose thanks to the Web-Based Education in Clinical Laboratory Sciences (WEBCLS) grant from the Department of Education’s “Learning Anytime Anywhere Partnerships.” 

 The University of Texas Medical Branch’s (UTMB) School of Allied Health Sciences CLS department and nine collaborating partners were awarded over one million dollars in funding to develop, implement, and evaluate an interactive web-based curriculum model for baccalaureate level CLS education.                

WEBCLS curriculum model will include web-based course materials for CLS, on-line interactive CLS course laboratories using video and animation, interactive discussion and chat sessions, on-line testing and evaluation, and a pilot demonstration of a virtual practice laboratory. This web-based form of learning uses the WWW, Internet, and intranets as the vehicle for delivering the training to learners anywhere and at any time.  This medium is capable of supporting a wide range of multimedia technologies, making it an ideal environment for learning. 

“Today’s students and those of the new millennium need a more time-and-place independent, asynchronous method of course delivery, says Dr. Vicki Freeman, Chair and Associate Professor CLS Department at UTMB.  “People are trying to balance work, families and educational opportunities.  This web-based method of delivery gives students the freedom to fit education into their busy lives.”           

WEBCLS curriculum will provide an articulation route for non-traditional associate degree clinical laboratory technicians (CLTs/MLTs) in rural, medically undeserved areas of the United States who wish to obtain their baccalaureate degree. The courses developed will also provide continuing education (CE) and laboratory professional retraining material.  “There are many CLTs that are trained in the community college who are capable of earning a bachelor's degree but lack the financial resources to move to a metropolitan area to continue their education or are tied to their communities by family or work obligations,” say Freeman. “But these ties to rural communities mean that they provide a ready pool of potential CLSs already committed to an underserved area. With development, they can upgrade the quantity and quality of health care services in their home regions.”         

The ten collaborating partners include four institutions known for their CLS rural distance education programs, The University of Texas Medical Branch, the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Kentucky Center for Rural Health and Wharton County Junior College. Three partnering institutions, The University of Texas at Pan American, The University of Texas at Brownsville/Texas Southmost College and Seminole State College, serve students in rural, multicultural communities.  Also included is The University of Houston Clear Lake, recognized for its expertise in instructional technology.  The final partners are the Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Electronic Campus and the National Laboratory Training Network (NLTN). These partners bring the strength of expertise in distance education and web-based education, sensitivity to multicultural issues, awareness of rural, community health issues and knowledge of the laboratory community. The partners also bring needed resources to fully develop the project and scale it up for national dissemination.           

These courses will be marketed via virtual campuses with CLS programs nation-wide through licensing agreements. Review modules and CE courses will be marketed and distributed through the NLTN. The interactive web-based curriculum model will be shared among faculty in partnership institutions for training and professional development, among graduate students in instructional technology as a case study, at professional meetings and through scholarly publications.

For more information about WEBCLS contact Chantele Singleton, Project Manager at (409) 772-3055 or email at csinglet@utmb.edu.

How Fast Should We Go Down the Information Highway? 

The TACLS Board has been discussing setting up a website for the organization. Possible uses for this website include publicity for continuing education opportunities such as our Annual Meeting as well as the distribution of information about our organization and the field of clinical laboratory science. One of the possibilities which we are considering is eliminating one or more of the regular paper issues of our newsletter and substituting regular updates on the website. We would still retain at least two regular issues of the newsletter each year. However, the Board does not want to disenfranchise our members who might not have internet access. Therefore, we would like your input before we make any major moves with the newsletter. Please respond to the following survey bv December 1, 1999.

1.        Do you have access to the internet?                       

Yes         ( )           

No           ( ) 

 2. Which of the following would you prefer as a method of obtaining news about the organization?

Internet Newsletter              ( )    

Written Newsletter              ( ) 

3. Would you be in favor of decreasing the number of written issues of the newsletter and replacing it with more frequent updates on the website?

Yes         ( )           

No           ( ) 

Please Respond by December 1,1999. 

Mail or email your responses to:

Karen Chandler 5805 N. 25'h Lane McAllen, TX 78504
Email address: karbec50@aol.com.

Nominations for TACLS Board Members and Member of the Year

 President Elect

1 position, 1-year term

Treasurer

1 position, 3-year term

Board Member

2 positions, each 3-year terms 

Nominations Committee

4 positions, each 2-year terms

TACLS Member-of-the-year 

Eligibility requirements for offices are: 

Must have been an active or emeritus member in good standing for at least two (2) years immediately prior to election, and shall have attended at least three (3) TACLS Official Business Meetings in the two (2) years immediately prior to nomination. 

Eligibility requirement for the TACLS Member-of-the-Year is only that he/she must have been an active or emeritus member in good standing prior to his/her nomination. 

Nominations may be made by a TACLS member for all positions except Nominations and Member-of-the-Year.  These must be made by a District Society.  All nominations must be postmarked by December 15, 1999.  

Message from the President                  

Karen Chandler, M.A. MT(ASCP) 

 As I begin my term of office, I am reflecting on the many changes which have taken place in our profession. While many of these changes have been disconcerting to clinical laboratory practitioners, others have been exciting in the potential opportunity they bring for professional growth. Change is part of the natural order of things and how we deal with change has a profound influence on our lives. Some people fight change with every ounce of energy they possess while others embrace change with a sense of excitement. Is change a challenge or a threat to you?

 It is my belief that the majority of people who fear change are those that do not have sufficient preparation and knowledge to adapt to new technology and the change in role which this technology may bring. Why are people unprepared? Each of us probably only has to look around us and talk to our fellow practitioners. How many clinical laboratory employees have not been to a single continuing education program outside of the mandatory sessions in their lab during the past year? How many file the journals they receive without really reading them? Unfortunately, I think that far too many people fall into this category. The excuses are many. " I am too busy." "I have kids and I don't have time." While all these things are valid concerns, it is also true that we make time for what we consider important. There are many opportunities to continue our professional development, yet declining attendance is a major concern to most program planners. Perhaps this lack of attendance can be attributed to how we feel about what we do. Do you view clinical laboratory science as a job or a profession? I think that the answer to this question is fundamental to our existence. I believe that those who consider themselves to be professionals will seek opportunities for professional growth. Belonging to your professional organization is an important part of that growth process. Let's encourage others to become involved and to be a part of our association.

THE AGING OF AMERICA

Shirlyn B. McKenzie, Ph.D., Region VII Director    

 Even before the advances of modern medicine, a few hardy souls lived to a ripe old age. Some said they did it by drinking whiskey everyday while others proclaimed it was alcoholic abstinence that gave them immortality. Old age before the twentieth century however, was the exception, not the rule. Statistics from England in the mid 1800s show that in London the average life span of a laborer was 15! During the last several decades, life expectancy has increased to 76 years. This is largely due to scientific discoveries that have decreased infant mortality, controlled communicable disease, and improved nutrition and living standards. These advances have prolonged life and consequently increased the number and proportion of the elderly population in almost all countries of the world. In the US, there were 26 million people over the age of 65 in 1980. By the year 2000 this segment of the population will increase to 35 million, an increase of 35 %. This graying of the population phenomenon will almost assuredly create massive social, political, and economic problems. The elderly have their own special problems of disease, disability and need for support. How we handle the challenges of meeting the social and health needs of the elderly will determine how fortunate it really is to grow old and will have far-reaching consequences for the further development of society. Society in the Westernized world has looked at the elderly as though these individuals cannot be contributing members of society and assume that rigor mortis sets in at retirement. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The sex drive capabilities are active in human beings until rigor mortis. In fact, staying active appears to prolong the quality of life. Since many more will reach old age than in the past, the issue for society is how to help as many of the elderly as possible remain healthy and independent and to continue to play an active role in society.   Problems that now occur because of the graying of our society include the burden of caring for elderly who have lost the ability to care for themselves because of degenerative diseases that cause functional impairment and increasing demand for costly health care services. By age 70, only 50% of our elderly are disease free. As life span extends, more years will be spent in poor health unless something is done to prevent chronic disease in the elderly. The tale from Greek mythology about Aurora, the goddess of morning, addressed this problem. Aurora asked that Zeus give Tithonus, her mortal lover, eternal life as she had. She forgot however, to ask for eternal youth. As the years passed he became progressively incapacitated. Zeus felt sorry for him and eventually had him turned into a grasshopper. The moral is that living longer without living well is a poor bargain. On the economic side, the elderly use health services at a rate three to four tirnes that expected for their proportion in society. As the population ages, the demand for new medical technologies increases, and the demand for health services and their costs continue to rise.   Obviously, the best way to avoid these problems is to help the elderly stay healthy. Fortunately, deaths due to cardiovascular disease have been decreasing in the US in the last decade. This has come about primarily from an emphasis on disease prevention and the adoption of more healthy life styles. However, the incidence of other geriatric diseases such as Alzheimer's disease is increasing.   In my next column, I will address the challenges and opportunities this demographic revolution presents for laboratory professionals. 

Until then, why don't you think about it and see if you can come up with some ideas?

Children’s Miracle Network

ASCLS has asked each state to have fundraisers for the Children's Miracle Network.  At the Board Study session we decided to make our silent auction a joint fundraiser for our Scholarship fund and The Children's Miracle network.   We hope that our members will bring or send items for the silent auction to the convention.  Donations can be sent to John Wentz or Dora Marie Arocha, if members can not make it to the meeting.  Their work number is 214-648-1780.  The membership may also obtain donations for the auction from their community and bring them.  We will also have boxes to accept monetary donations to the Scholarship fund and/or to the Children's Miracle Network.   If you have any questions contact Judy Baughman, JEBaughman@aol.com.

 

 

Send mail to vfreeman@utmb.edu with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1998 Texas Association for Clinical Laboratory Sciences
Last modified: April 10, 2005