Selma B. Watson RRT, RCP

Greetings,

2023 is a licensure renewal year for licensed SC RCPs; the SCSRC is often asked questions regarding continuing education requirements for license renewal. The timeframe for the next cycle is as noted below, as well as the CE sponsoring organizations, and approved contact hours for such classes as ACLS, PALS, BLS, etc. Please note: the SCSRC is not responsible for licensure renewal in any way. This is presented as information only; any questions, concerns, etc. should be directed to the SC Labor, Licensing and Regulation department, https://llr.sc.gov.

Respiratory Care Practitioner (RCP) Renewal and Continuing Education Information

Continuing Education Timeframe – You must have completed at least thirty (30) hours of continuing education in the RENEWAL PERIOD (June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2023).

RCPs in their FIRST renewal cycle after receiving their initial permanent license are NOT required to complete CME for this renewal period only.

1. Continuing education sponsorship – courses must be approved or sponsored by one of the following organizations:
1. American Association for Respiratory Care, Inc. or its sponsoring organizations
2. American Heart Association
3. American Lung Association
4. Society of Critical Care Medicine
5. South Carolina Society for Respiratory Care
6. Allied Health Education Centers of the South Carolina Consortium of Community Teaching Hospitals (AHEC)
7. American Thoracic Society
8. American College of Chest Physicians
9. American Society of Anesthesiologists
10. Accredited institutional continuing education programs:
1. Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
2. American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation
2. Approved Number of Contact Hours
   

   BLS Initial	6
   BLS refresher (PHR/PHB BLS, etc.)	3
   PALS Initial (2 day class)	12
   PALS Refresher	6
   ACLS Initial	12
   ACLS Refresher	6
   NRP Initial	6
   NRP Refresher	3

September 9, 2022 marked the close of another very successful SCSRC annual conference; this proved to be a recording setting year for the state society with over 180 attendees, including therapists from states such as Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and, of course, all over South Carolina, students from five of the state’s seven technical colleges, speakers from all over the nation and a total of 52 vendors represented.

Len Geiger from Jacksonville, Florida presented a lecture about his experiences with having Alpha1 Antitrypsin deficiency and where that took on a road to a double lung transplant. Many in the audience were moved to tears and have asked to have him come to all of our conferences.

Jim Damron gave a lecture about Prescribing Suicide, which proved to be thought provoking; he was also a favorite among those in attendance.

These are only two of the highly rated lectures that were presented at the conference.

The Brief Tobacco Intervention training program that has been a project/partnership with SC DHEC for the past two years was also rolled out; this training program offers one hour of CRCE free to AARC/SCSRC members and is $10 for non-AARC members. Ms. Katy Wynne, with the SC DHEC Tobacco Quitline, presented a lecture on “Evidence That Supports Clinical Intervention with Patients Who Smoke or Vape” as a part of this roll out.

The RT students had their own half day break out sessions where they spent time with representatives from different vendor companies, including Vapotherm, Carolina Diagnostics Solutions, Sentec, to name a few, and Duke University Medical Center. This was held in the Dunes Ballroom of the Hilton hotel, with amazing views of the Atlantic Ocean surrounding them.

The celebration dinner, with a Halloween theme, was held on Wednesday evening, with the costume contest winners being announced the following day; congratulations to all on your creativity!

The exhibit hall was well attended; the Program Committee heard over and over from the exhibitors in attendance that our exhibit hall is the best in the region!

The annual business meeting was conducted on Wednesday afternoon, where the results of the election were announced; congratulations to all and we look forward to working with you in the new year of 2023. Mr. Wayne Barfield, one of delegates to the AARC’s House of Delegates, was the recipient of the 2022 President’s Award. Mr. Mike Bianchi, the SCSRC’s webmaster, was the recipient of the 2022 Palmetto Award, in recognition of the many years of commitment and value he has brought to the SCSRC by managing and maintaining the website, often donating time to the care and maintenance of the website.

The 2022 Department of the Year award was given to Prisma Health Hillcrest Hospital Respiratory Care Department – Congratulations!

The 2022 Leadership Practitioner of the Year award recipient was Kelcy Scott, RRT-NPS, from the Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The 2022 Region of the Year was the Midlands Region – congratulations to directors Terrica Rice and Amanda Coffey!

All in all, it was a very successful conference; plans are already underway for the 52nd Annual Conference scheduled for September 2023! We hope to see you there!

Ann Gilchrist Whitmire, a longtime SC respiratory therapist, passed away on Saturday, March 12, 2022 at the age of 88. Ann worked for many years as an RT at Providence Hospital, and also worked at Blue Choice Health Plan until her retirement in September 2017.

Ann was president of the SCSRC in 1986, which was the year the SC legislature passed the Title Protection Act for Respiratory Care Practitioners, which later became what we know now as our RCP licensure act. Ann played a pivotal role in the process of getting the original bill written and passed.

She was the recipient of the SCSRC Practitioner of the Year award as well.

Services for Ann will be held on Saturday, April 2nd, 2022, at 11 am, at The Church of the Good Shepherd (Episcopal), 1512 Blanding Street, Columbia, SC 29201. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service in the Church Parish Hall. Dunbar Funeral Home is assisting the family, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.

On a personal note, Ann was the first therapist that I rounded with on my very first day in clinic as a fourth quarter RT student at Midlands Tech; she was amazing to work with, a day I will never forget and will always be grateful for….