A Florida asthma coalition and their local health department have come up with a unique program to increase the number of certified asthma educators in their community. The mission of the Pediatric Asthma Resource Action Team (PARAT) is to improve the quality of life for children and adolescents with asthma. PARAT is based at All Children's Hospital but its members come from throughout the community. There are many organizations that belong to PARAT including: American Lung Association, Asthma Allergy Foundation of America Florida Chapter, ACT for Health, Children's Medical Services, Pinellas County Schools, Mothers of Asthmatics, Pinellas County Health Department, individual parent members, Pediatric Pulmonology Associates and a county-wide consortium, Partnership for a Healthier Pinellas.

PARAT is a partner in the Department of Health And Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention /STEPS to a Healthier US grant received by Pinellas county. One of their shared objectives is to increase the number of certified asthma educators in the grant area. In order to reach this goal, the Pediatric Asthma Resource Action Team (PARAT) will offer scholarships to people who want to become certified asthma educators for the five-year grant period. The first year of the grant PARAT/STEPS will award three scholarships, with the number of recipients growing to four for each the remaining grant years. PARAT has recently chosen the first three recipients of the scholarships, all of whom are now in the process of preparing to take the exam. The recipients are: Karen Baybut, Asthma Case Manager at All Children's Hospital, Denis Kuper, Respiratory Therapist at All Children's Hospital, and Susan Boothe, a RN who specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology. It is PARAT's hope to attract more applicants from throughout the community in the scholarships subsequent years so that the group of certified educators will be as wide and diverse as the neighborhoods they serve. The scholarship will pay the fees for the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB) examination. This scholarship is open to people who work with children with asthma in the STEPS grant area.

For more information, contact Anna Ruth at All Children's Hospital 727.767.4798 or rutha@allkids.org.

Each issue of the Certificant Connection will feature a certificant. This issue's featured certificant is Chris Wagner, a founding member of the NAECB. She was recently interviewed by Lisa Overman.
1. Why did you decide to become part of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB)? I have worked as an asthma educator for over 20 years. In the 1980's I spearheaded a group asking a professional medical organization to help us with the development of an exam for asthma educators. At that time we received no official response but were told there was "no need" for such certification. In 1998 I was able to facilitate a meeting of nationally recognized asthma educators. With their help, that weekend meeting lead to the formation of the Association of Asthma Educators (AAE) and I am proud to have been the first president of that organization. When the ALA convened the stakeholders meeting in 1999 to discuss the development of a certification exam, I attended as a representative of AAE. Since I had dreamed of this exam for so long I was eager to be part of its birth and ran for a board position when the opportunity became available. I feel very fortunate to have been elected to the first NAECB.

2. What has been the most exciting and/or challenging part of being involved with the NAECB? Money, money, money! I was the first treasurer of NAECB and it reminded me of when I was first married with bills. You always worry about which ones you would pay first if there wasn't enough to go around! We were lucky to have the support of the American Lung Association (ALA) and the multiple ALAs around the country as well as AAE but the big professional organizations were very slow to give us financial support and it was quite a challenge to keep money in the bank for exam development. Watching the exam become a reality and meeting our goal of having the exam ready only one year from our inception was the most exciting part. And they said it couldn't be done!!

3. What do you hope individuals considering certification (and those already certified) know about the examination process and the importance of the NAECB and the Asthma Educator-Certified (AE-C)? I hope that those who are already certified understand that it is up to each of us to fight for reimbursement for the work we do as asthma educators. Many seem to be waiting for NAECB to "get us reimbursement" but each of us will have to negotiate for payments with each of our payers. If you work in a clinic, hospital, private practice, you MUST become involved with the billing for your services. There are already codes out there for some education and for counseling. USE THEM! People complain that they do not get reimbursed for this, but you must bill anyway and then fight, negotiate, contract for payment. Document your progress, the benefit to your patients; get statements from your patients telling the insurance company how beneficial your education was. Obtaining reimbursement is EVERYONE'S job. The NAECB has a wonderful site at www.naecb.org/cbr that covers reimbursement issues in various states.

4. When you look ahead to the 20th anniversary of the NAECB in the year 2020, what do you see? I see thousands of certified AE-Cs not just in the USA but everywhere in the world. I see a significant reduction in the morbidity and mortality from asthma. I see a better educated public which values receiving their information from experts in their particular field of specialty (not just asthma but other diseases as well) and demands that their medical facility has a certified educator to provide them with scientifically based information to help them to manage their diseases.

5. What personal/professional impact have you realized while being part of the NAECB? I am thrilled to have been involved in the formation of the NAECB and seeing the certification examination become a reality. There were many times when I never thought it would happen. I feel being part of this endeavor has been one of the high points of my career as an asthma educator. I look forward to watching the NAECB grow and plan to continue to work actively on educating and mentoring future asthma educators.

Submitted by Lisa Overman.

The reimbursement web page on the NAECB website has been instrumental in assisting certificants in many states obtain reimbursement for their asthma education activities. Check it out for yourself at www.naecb.org/cbr/
Texas "Starting a new business and trying to understand coding is impossible without paying consultants thousands of dollars. I did contact the NAECB coding person and she directed me to the NAECB website, which has helped with my coding problems. Thank you for all the help."
Also fromTexas "Working in Rural Health Care, resources are limited for questions on coding or even a group where you can discuss reimbursement issues. The coding posted on the NAECB website has really made a difference in Medicare, MCO and Medicaid. What blows me away is that it's free!"

California "I think the site is fantastic. We've already heard from our local projects about how they have used this information to develop sustainability plans for current asthma education efforts. Thanks again for NAECB assistance with this Herculean task!"

Missouri "After looking at the reimbursement section of NAECB website, we found numerous codes for asthma patient education that we were not using. We implemented the codes and have had good outcomes on reimbursement. Thanks, NAECB."

Wisconsin "I cannot tell you what a difference this has made in reimbursement for patient education, knowing you could charge for education under a physician's supervision. I will continue to visit this site often."

North Carolina "Use of the Managed Care Template helps my practice understand the codes. We have used the template to renegotiate several contracts in our favor - which means more money for this practice. Thanks!"

Oklahoma "I just wanted to thank you for the wonderful NAECB website. We have been looking for a way for our Durable Medical Equipment program to stand out from the crowd and I believe NAECB is helping us do that. The reimbursement information on your site has been very, very helpful and appreciated."

The NAECB is pleased to announce the award of two Dr. Linda B. Ford scholarships to a respiratory therapist and registered nurse.

Tori Lynn Child, RRT, RCP of New Mexico and Mary Jane Foos, RN, MSN of Ohio are the first two recipients of the Dr. Linda B. Ford Scholarship for asthma educators. The annual scholarship is awarded to individuals who have experience working with individuals with asthma, work in underserved areas or populations, and meet all examination eligibility requirements.

This scholarship was created to provide assistance for individuals pursuing their national asthma educator certification. The award is named after Dr. Linda B. Ford, the first chair and a founding member of the National Asthma Educator Certification Board (NAECB).

The NAECB is the first and only U.S. organization to provide a national certification examination for asthma educators. Their mission is to promote optimal asthma management and quality of life among individuals with asthma, their families and communities, by advancing excellence in asthma education through the certified asthma educator process.

For additional information about the Linda B. Ford, MD Scholarship or the National Asthma Educator Certification Board, visit www.naecb.org

Each issue of the Certificant Connection will feature a question the board has for our certificants, a feature we call, "We'd like to know..." This month's question is: What professional publications do you read? Send your reply to: loverman@naecb.org Thanks!

Your newsletter editors are: Tim Op't Holt toptholt@jaguar1.usouthal.edu and Bill Pruitt wpruitt@jaguar1.usouthal.edu, faculty at the University of South Alabama. Send your articles and ideas!

If you want to mail something to us: Cardiorespiratory Care, University of South Alabama, 1504 Springhill Ave., Mobile, Alabama 36604. Phone: (251)434-3405, fax (251) 434-3941. We look forward to hearing from you!

Periodically, the NAECB will mail information that is of interest to you. Be sure to keep your contact information (including your email address) current so you don't miss-out on any important information. Send contact information changes to: NAECB, 1150 18th St. N.W., Ste. 900, Washington, D.C. 20036. Email: loverman@naecb.org

Make your AE-C credential count even more with community service! Now that you are an AE-C, you can make it count even more in your community by registering with local lung health organizations like the American Lung Association, American Thoracic Society, the Association of Asthma Educators, and others. Let them know that you are available for educational opportunities, speaking engagements, and referrals from community members. Do your part to promote quality asthma education and management!

A public service announcement is being developed for the NAECB. This PSA will encourage patients to inquire of their health care institution if they have a Certified Asthma Educator. More on the availability of the PSA in later issues of Certificant Connection.

Volunteers are needed to sit on the following NAECB committees: Examination, PR/Marketing, Bylaws, and Judicial and Ethics. Contact Lisa Overman loverman@naecb.org