Board of Respiratory Care

Minutes

Date: February 14, 2006

Time: 9:00 a.m., C.S.T.

Location: Tennessee Room

Ground Floor, Cordell Hull Building
425 5th Avenue North
Nashville, TN 37247-1010

Members Present: Billy Alred, Chair

Shirley Brackett
James Hunter, II
Candace Partee
Timothy McGill
Delmar Mack, Ed.D.

Members Absent: Darryl Jordan, M.D.

Colleen Schabacker
Robbie Bell, Ex Officio

Staff Present: Marva Swann, Unit Director

Tomica Walker, Board Administrator
Ernie Sykes, Advisory Attorney
Jerry Kosten, Regulations Manager
Gerry Crownover, Assistant General Counsel
Lea Phelps, Disciplinary Coordinator
Denise Moran, Director of Investigations

Guests Present: Mike Harkreader, Tennessee Professional Assistance Program

A quorum being present, Mr. Alred, Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

Office of General Counsel

Mr. Sykes informed the Board of their responsibilities under the Conflict of Interest Policy.
Board members were asked to sign exhibit 4 of the policy in acknowledgement of their
understanding of its content.

Mr. Sykes presented to the Board the Office of General Counsel Report as follows:
Rules:
Under review by the Attorney General:

• Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1330-1- .22—regarding ABG course requirements

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 • Tenn. Comp R. & Regs. 1300-1-.05- regarding criminal background checks for initial
applicants for licensure
• Tenn. Comp R. & Regs. 1330-1-.02,.03,.19,.20-(05-1386) regarding title, screening
panels, equipment delivery, and advertising.

Litigation:
The Office of General Counsel, Tennessee Department of Health, currently has twelve (12) open
cases pertaining to the Tennessee Board of Respiratory Care. Four (4) cases pertain to
Registered Respiratory Therapists; Seven (7) cases pertain to Certified Respiratory Therapists;
and one (1) case pertains to Respiratory Care Assistants.

Letter of Reprimand

Tiffany Stubblefield, CRT - Ms. Stubblefield was not present by agreement of the parties. The
state was represented by Gerry Crownover.

The Board found Ms. Stubblefield guilty of unprofessional conduct by practicing as a Certified
Respiratory Therapist without a license.

As a result of the above findings a motion was made by Dr. Mack and seconded by Mr. Hunter
to approve the letter of reprimand as presented. The motion carried.

Approval of Minutes

A motion was made by Ms. Partee and seconded by Mr. Hunter to approve the minutes of the
November 17, 2005 Board meeting as amended. The motion carried.

Applicant Interviews/File Reviews

Steven Boatwright—Mr. Boatwright appeared before the Board seeking licensure as a Certified
Respiratory Therapist through reciprocity. Mr. Boatwright had been disciplined in Mississippi
for practicing on an expired temporary permit. Upon review by the Board, a motion was made
by Ms. Partee and seconded by Ms. Brackett to approve Mr. Boatwright for licensure. The
motion carried.

Pamela Lott—Ms. Lott appeared before the Board seeking licensure as a Registered Respiratory
Therapist through reciprocity with Katrina displacement. Ms. Lott failed to disclose on her
Katrina application that she had a DUI conviction in 2003 in the state of Mississippi. When
applying for full licensure she did not disclose this on her application but did disclose this on her
mandatory practitioner profile. Upon review by the Board, a motion was made by Dr. Mack and
seconded by Mr. Hunter for licensure pending a favorable evaluation from TNPAP. The motion
carried.

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Margaret Mullins- Ms. Mullins appeared before the Board, seeking ABG Endorsement on her
license a Registered Respiratory Therapist. Upon review by the Board, a motion was made by
Ms. Partee and seconded by Ms. Brackett to grant Ms. Mullins ABG Endorsement. The motion
carried.

Jennifer Phillips—Ms. Phillips appeared before the Board seeking licensure as a Certified
Respiratory Therapist through reciprocity. Ms. Phillips had been convicted of a DUI in 1999 in
the state of Pennsylvania. Upon review by the Board, a motion was made by Ms. Partee and
seconded by Dr. Mack to approve Ms. Phillips for licensure. The motion carried.

Jonathan Stafford – Mr. Stafford appeared before the Board seeking initial licensure as a
Certified Respiratory Therapist. Mr. Stafford had been convicted of shop lifting in 2001. Upon
review by the Board, a motion was made by Ms. Partee and seconded by Mr. Hunter to approve
Mr. Stafford for licensure. The motion carried.

Rules

Jerry Kosten reported on the Rulemaking Hearing to be held April 25, 2006 regarding an
amendment to Rule 1330-1-.22 ABG Endorsement. It is amended by deleting paragraph (2) in
its entirety and substituting instead the following language, and is further amended by deleting
paragraphs (3) and (4) in their entirety, so that as amended, the new paragraph (2) shall read:

(2) Obtaining ABG Endorsement

(a) Registered respiratory therapists and certified respiratory therapists can obtain ABG
Endorsement by submitting verification to the Board that he/she holds a current CRT or
RRT credential issued by the NBRC; or

(b) An individual can obtain ABG Endorsement by submitting verification to the Board of
a current “Special Analyst/ABG” license issued by the Tennessee Medical Laboratory
Board.

And Rule 1330-1-.19 is amended by adding the following language as new paragraph (8):

(8) Reconsiderations and Stays- The Board authorizes the member who chaired the Board
for a contested case to be the agency member to make the decisions authorized pursuant to
rule 1360-4-1-.18 regarding petitions for reconsiderations and stays in that case.

That being said, Ms. Partee made a motion, seconded by Mr. Hunter to approve the rules
amendments for a rulemaking hearing. The motion carried.

Task Force Meeting Report

Ms. Partee presented the task force report from the meeting held 02/03/2006 with Colleen
Schabacker, Shirley Brackett and herself. This meeting was held for the purpose of discussing
the guidelines regarding granting licensees with ABG endorsement. As Tennessee currently has

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no stand-alone course for ABG and California College also is no longer offering such a course,
the committee felt that that proof of licensees passing the national NBRC exam would be
sufficient in that the exam covers ABG analysis. The board concurred and requested that the
administrative staff grant ABG to any licensee that the board had denied within the last year
when it was determined that California College no longer offered a course. A policy statement
clarifying the board’s interpretation of ABG credentialing is being prepared by our advisory
attorney, Ernie Sykes. A motion was made by Mr. Hunter and seconded by Ms. Partee to accept
the changes as presented. The motion carried.

Policy Statement

The Board’s advisory attorney Ernie Sykes drafted a policy statement that states whenever a
certified respiratory therapist who holds a current ABG endorsement upgrades to registered
respiratory therapist, such therapist automatically retain his or her ABG endorsement. A motion
was made by Ms. Partee and seconded by Mr. Hunter to approve the policy statement as
presented. The motion carried.

Investigations and Disciplinary Report

Denise Moran presented the disciplinary and investigative report. There was an initial carryover
of thirteen (13) complaints from December, 2004 with nine (9) new complaint received in 2005.
One (1) complaint was closed with a letter of concern. Nine (9) complaints were sent to the
Office of General Counsel leaving a total of twelve (12) open complaints at the time of this
meeting.

Tennessee Professional Assistance Program Report

Mike Harkreader, Director of TNPAP presented the report. There were four (4) new referrals to
TNPAP for the period of October 21, 2005 thru January 19, 2006. Of these referrals one (1)
entered into a monitoring agreement making a total of six (6) being monitored at this time; also
for this period of time there were two (2) released after evaluation and two (2) in treatment.

Administrator’s Report

Tomica Walker presented the Administrator’s report. Active current licensee totals are 1990
Registered Respiratory Therapists, 2031 Certified Respiratory Therapists, and 34 Respiratory
Care Assistants. There is a benchmark of application processing time set for all Health Related
Boards of 14 days for renewals and 100 days for initial applications.

We are exceeding our benchmark of 14 days processing time with regard to renewals with the
average time of 1 to 2 days for both RRT’s and CRT’s and 4 days for RCA’s.
We are meeting the benchmark of 100 days processing time for initial licensure with 62 days
being the average time for RRT’s, and 94 being the average time for CRT’s.

For your information, ABG endorsement can now be accessed on the Internet verification
system.

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Board members were again reminded to obtain prior travel approval through the Administrative
staff before making travel arrangements outside of the State of Tennessee in order to ensure
reimbursement.

Correspondence

The Board received correspondence from Lynda England Director of the Medical Laboratory
Board asking the Board to clarify the scope of practice for respiratory therapists. She states that
laboratory procedures that are familiar to her include the performance of arterial blood gases
with the associated ph concentration that is performed on a blood gas analyzer. She inquired as
to whether the performance of ph on body fluids is included in the scope of practice. After
discussion the Board concluded that it is within their scope of practice for a respiratory therapist,
and that allowing a therapist to perform the procedure should be left up to the discretion of the
employer.

Ratifications

A motion was made by Dr. Mack and seconded by Mr. Hunter to approve the following
applicants for Registered Respiratory Therapists, Reinstated Registered Respiratory Therapists,
Certified Respiratory Therapists, and Reinstated Certified Respiratory Therapists. The motion
carried.

Licensed Certified Respiratory Therapist

Hajar Abdallah
Fred Allan Ballard
Ronnie L Baxter
Jennifer Hensley Bise
Jennifer Brown Bishop
Robert J Byers
Kimberly Antoinette Campbell
Tonia Crocker Cavender
Christopher C Clancy
Sheena Elaine Clark
Robert Joseph Compretta, JR
Trisha Ann Coughlin
Penny Farmer Cozort
Robin Swanier Dedeaux
Kimberly Hawks Dennis
Tari Broady Dickerson
Angela Randolph Dillard
William Jason Faulkner
Shelli Dishman Ferrell
Linda Gail Fletcher

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Tracy L Forrester
Arlene N French
Kristy Lynn Gathings
Debra G Hall
Jennifer Jones Harlan
Jena S Harris
Jamie Malone Hopper
Mark Anthony Jackson
Tikita L Johnson
D’Ann Butler Jordan
Gloria Keyes
Pamela P Krusac
Chivonne Poston Lewis
Laurie Gilman Lindermann
Evelyn A Massengill
Latonya Yvonne Mays
Jacqueline C McKnight
Latoya Nicole Mitchell
Kathleen R Murry
Joani Lyn O’Connor
Imuentiyan Linda Omosigho
Kayla Deshea Pedigo
Linda Raisor Puckett
Pamela Rimuka
Katrina Lynn Rogers
Charles William Sallis
April Pennington Scribner
Kendice Lashea Stoner
Jacqueline Marie Stuart
Hairline Sylvestre
Andrea Burress Thompson
Candice Brim Tigue
Monica Walker Turner
Julia Michelle Whitt
Lori Liford Widner
Sandra Johnson Wiltz

Reinstated Licensed Certified Respiratory Therapist

Rupa Susan Stephen Crite

Mary Elizabeth Graham

Licensed Registered Respiratory Therapist

Jodi Michelle Asher

Timothy Guy Belew

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Kerry Anthony Bordere
John Douglas Brady
Anise Clark
John D Decker
Emma Darlene Earnhart
Michele Johnson Fannin
Shelli Dishman Ferrell
Michael Jon Fischer
Christa Danielle Grahl
Michael Steven Harrell
Jessica Louise Hash
Barkley Alan Hatton
Erin Nicole Hicks
Eligah Lamont Johnson
Mary Kay Jungbluth
Robert Alan Lamb
Vivian Cox Lebaroff
Sondra Ann Lind
Nina Marie Manning
Willie James McKnight, JR.
Mark L Pierce
Lyeart Pride
David E Purdy
Candy Wilson Robinson
Andrea Grizzle Sayler
Barbara Garrett Seymore
Tonya Lewis Shott
Ryan Nicole Smith
Tricia Whitten Thomas
Jason Scott Tilley
Shannon Whitehead Timmons
Avis Louis Trepagnier
Melisha Gentle Warren

Licensed Reinstated Registered Respiratory Therapist

Lynn Marie Buchanan

Amanda C Carter
Bob G Neely
Richard R Taylor

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 11:00 pm.

Candace Partee, Secretary

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