Agility Therapy

Grand Rapids

SB 493 Passes out of Senate Health Policy Committee

This summer our licensure bill passed out of the Senate Health Policy Committee and we now wait for it to be brought to the Senate Floor. Our progress here is in no small part due to our MSHA Legislative Day 2008 which was a great success with over 75 MSHA colleagues attending. We had a great education session inclusive of roleplaying, and a significant turnout of legislators and we were able to speak with key senators and representatives.

We need you to write your State Senators and urge them to support the licensure bill SB-493. If you live in the Rochester area and Senator Michael Bishop is your Senator, please write or email him to encourage him to take it to the senate floor for a vote. A sample letter to Senator Bishop follows here...and is on our website under "Legislation." Here is the link to look up your senaor in case you're not sure who it is:

Keep your eyes and ears posted as our goal is to move this bill through the Senate and House asap with the Governor's signature before the end of the year! We can't do it without the help and support of all of our members. If you can set up a meeting with your legislator, Stephanie Johnson, our Legislative Advocate, and/or I will meet with you or talk with you to give you speaking points to help it go smoothly.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me.

In closing, I ask for your support and encourage you to contact me with any questions that you and your staff may have. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

MSHA:

Purpose:    The goals of the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association are to:

·   Promote the quality and availability of services to persons with communicative disorders.

·    Foster high standards and competence in persons engaged in the delivery of those services.

·    Promote and support the scientific study of normal and disordered speech, language, and hearing.

·    Stimulate the exchange of information among Association members, and between Association members and professionals in related areas.

·     Disseminate information to the public.
 

Structure:    MSHA is governed by an Executive Council composed of elected Association members.  Much of the work of the Association is performed by members serving on committees, which include:  

·    Audiology – Responds to concerns of audiologists in Michigan on issues such as educational audiology, licensure, legislation, and reimbursement.  Links with the Michigan Audiology Coalition and helps plan the jointly sponsored annual Audiology Conference.

·    Community and Hospital Services – Responds to concerns of speech-language pathologists and audiologists working in primarily medical settings; coordinates the Medical Speech-Language Pathology Forum held at the MSHA Annual Conference; oversees the Augmentative and Alternative Communication Subcommittee; reviews nominations and selects recipients for the MSHA Clinical Service Award. Maintains contacts with reimbursement agencies including Medicaid, Medicare, and Blue Cross. The Augmentative and Alternative Communication Subcommittee of CHS provides a forum for professionals working in this area across all employment settings.

·    Continuing Professional Development – Provides opportunities for updating professional skills and obtaining CEUs through MSHA sponsored programs;

·    Ethics and Standards – Serves as a resource to MSHA membership on questions or concerns relating to professional ethics;

·    Education of the Hearing Impaired – Serves as liaison between Teachers of the Hearing Impaired and MSHA; Provides input and assistance to the Program Committee on conferences and workshops;

·    Legislation – Follows legislative activity affecting members;  Monitors bills and/or proposed rules that impact the profession;  Plans and fosters membership participation in MSHA legislative activities;

·    Programs – Coordinates and implements every aspect of educational programming under the MSHA umbrella.  This includes the Annual Spring Conference, Summer Executive Council Retreat, and other educational programs as identified;

·    Public Schools – Monitors and responds to issues affecting provision of services in public schools;  Encourages excellence in public school programming;

·    Public Relations – Promotes increased awareness of speech-language pathology and audiology professional services via the media; Promotes May as Better Hearing and Speech month to membership and consumers; moderates the MSHA member listserv;

·    Student Affairs – Plans sessions of special interest to student members at the MSHA Conference;  responds to issues and concerns relevant to students in professional programs; coordinates and distributes  the annual MSHA Student Scholarship Awards.

·    Membership – Promotes membership in MSHA; encourages increased communication between MSHA and regional associations and special interest groups.

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