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UPDATE (click for PDF):
This letter, signed by the chairs of the Higher Education Committees from both the Assembly (Glick) and the Senate (Lavalle), was sent on our behalf to the State Education Department requesting non-action on their December 2007 memo. Communication towards that same end was made by the Speaker of the Assembly (Canestrari) as well as the sponsors of the bill (Fuschillo and Bing.)
We thank them all for their interest and involvement in this most pressing matter.
THE THREAT
As you may be aware, the State Education Department (see attached memorandum) has reaffirmed its view that certain tasks undertaken in sleep centers may be within the practice of respiratory therapy and, as a result, the Department may seek to require that respiratory therapists exclusively perform those tasks. While we disagree with the State Education Department's interpretation (and have taken issue with the Department on this matter for the past decade or so), we have agreed with the Department that an acceptable solution to the issue would be to establish a new licensed profession of polysomnographic technology, which would be more directly related to the treatment of sleep disorders and would obviate the need to utilize respiratory therapists for these functions.
URGENT: Support New York Sleep Licensing Legislation -- SB 8037/A 10961
Representatives from the NYS Society of Sleep Medicine and our lobbyists had several visits with State legislators on June 5th in an effort to educate them about polysomnography, the work of PSGTechs, and pending legislation to establish PSGTechs as a separate licensed profession. (Letter of support we shared with the legislators.) The meetings went well, but we realize that much work remains before the Legislature adjourns by the end of June. Our immediate priority is to convince the Chairpersons of the Senate and Assembly Higher Education Committees to pass the bill out of their respective committees. These "profession"-related bills are very difficult to pass out of committee, so we need a concerted and sustained effort on your part to show support for the bill among polysomnographic practitioners.
Accordingly, we need you to e-mail, or write letters to Senator Ken LaValle urging him to "report S.8037-A out of the Senate Higher Education Committee", as well as to Assemblywoman Deborah Glick "to report A.10961-A out of the Assembly Higher Education Committee", AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
See http://newyorksleep.org/PSGT_letter_to_legislators.DOC for a draft letter that can and should be personalized for this purpose.
The relevant email addresses are: lavalle@senate.state.ny.us and glickd@assembly.state.ny.us
Emails are tallied by the offices and are the preferred means for this communication.
The physical addresses for letters are:
Senator Kenneth LaValle
Room 806,
Legislative Off Blg
Albany, NY 12247
Or the district office @
325 Middle Country Road, Suite 4
Selden, NY 11784
http://senatorlavalle.com/1/default.aspx
Assemblyperson Deborah J. Glick
Room 717
Legislative Off Blg
Albany, NY 12248
Or the district office @
853 Broadway
Suite 2120
New York, NY 10003
http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=066
As you know, we are under a pending threat (at the end of August 2008) by the State Education Department to close down sleep centers through its enforcement against individual sleep techs who provide sleep testing without a license and doctors and other licensed healthcare professionals who aid PSGtechs in the performance of such services. Your emails/letters to the Senator and Assemblywoman will help communicate this sense of urgency. Please be respectful in your communications as we ultimately need these legislators' cooperation. Please forward this to colleagues, compatriots and patient advocates sympathetic to our cause.
Thank you.
Daniel Rifkin, MD
President
President@newyorksleep.org
New York State Society of Sleep Medicine
Claude Albertario, RPSGT
Secretary
info@nysssm.org
New York State Society of Sleep Medicine
www.NEWYORKSLEEP.org
The Polysomnographic Technology Licensure bill has now been introduced in
BOTH the New York State Senate and Assembly A.10961/S.8037entitled
“An ACT to amend the education law, in relation to licensing the practice of polysomnographic technology”
[click for pdf]
Under the bill, PSGTechs would become a new licensed profession, existing PSGTechs with appropriate experience and qualifications would be grandfathered into licensure and PSGTechs would have the authority to perform the tasks customarily delegated to them in sleep labs and centers. Finally, we plan to sit down with our Senate and Assembly sponsors in the upcoming weeks to further educate them on the bill.
It is critical that all sleep professionals do all they can to alert their state legislators to the introduction of this polysomnographic technologist (PSGTechs) licensing legislation. The bill is now before the Higher Education Committees in both houses. We urge you, therefore, to express your support for the bill by doing the following:
A draft letter expressing your support for the bill is attached. Please use it to contact your legislators. Please be courteous and considerate, and keep the mailing as short as possible.
1. Your local legislators. If you don't know who your State Assemblyman and State Senator is you can go to the following web sites (www.senate.state.ny.us, www.assembly.state.ny.us, www.elections.state.ny.us) and click on the appropriate link.
2. The chairs of the Higher Education Committees in each house: Senator Kenneth LaValle and Assembly member Deborah Glick.
3. The sponsors of the legislation: Senator Charles Fuschillo and Assembly member Jonathan Bing.
According to the Deptartment of Education Memorandum, unless this bill is enacted into law this session, the State Education Department has threatened to require sleep centers across New York State to hire respiratory therapists to perform C-PAP, Bi-PAP, and oxygen administration. [See below]
If you have any questions regarding this issue, you may contact Claude Albertario, RPSGT (at info@nysssm.org ) or Dr. Daniel Rifkin (at president@newyorksleep.org ).
Please let us know if you have any questions or comments.
The New York State Society of Sleep Medicine has been
serving the New York State Sleep Medicine community
since 1999.
The March 11, 2005 Editorial from the AASM
The March 7, 2005 letter from AASM
The 2005 call for membership for support for a legislative answer to the ongoing issue as described within this website
View an annotated
History of Sleep Medicine in New York State
Visit our updated LINKS page to find COAPSG recognized polysomnography educational programs
If you have comments or questions about becoming a member, or wish to contact us,
click on the “Contact Info” button on any page
Thank you for visiting and we look forward to serving you.
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