 May 2012 The Newsletter of the Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association | |
2012-2013 MSHA Executive Board and Advisory Assembly
MSHA Executive Board:
President: Audiology: Happy Spring! This is the newsletter of the:
Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association
In This Issue
Dodie French receives 2012 MSHA Honors of the Association
Congratul  ations to Dorothea (Dodie) French, Ph.D., who received the 2012 MSHA Honors of the Association - the highest award MSHA can bestow. Dodie was not at the Awards Banquet in Kalamazoo to receive the Honors because she now lives in Port Angeles, Washington since her retirement last year. She was there, so to speak, in a lovely DVD message she sent accepting the award, and congratulating all of MSHA's SLPs and AUDs and Teachers of the Hearing Impaired, for the wonderful work they do to serve the communicatively impaired.
Here are the words from the Honors nomination: Be It Known That: Whereas, she has served as the Director of the Redford Union Oral Program for Whereas, she has served the Michigan Speech-Language Hearing Association and its Whereas, she has made tremendous contributions to the field both at the state and national levels, participating in the A.G. Bell Association, Council for Exceptional Children, Michigan Supervisors Whereas, she has served as a pioneer in her field by becoming one of the first individuals Whereas, she has demonstrated passion for this profession, serving as leader, pioneer, Be It Therefore Resolved that the Honors of the Association Congratulations Dodie! Traverse Bay Area ISD receives Public School Program of the Year Award
Ellen Gehl, M.A., CCC-SLP, and Theresa Sutton, M.A., CCC-SLP Congratulations to the 2012 MSHA Public School Program of the Year Award winner, the Kindergarten Round-Up: Oral Language Screening Program, Traverse Bay Area ISD. Speech-Language Pathologists honored for this outstanding program are: Dena Schweitzer, M.A., CCC-SLP, Joni Bahra, M.A., CCC-SLP, (pictured here l-r), and Jean McCormick, M.A., CCC-SLP. The Director of Special Education is Marie Connors-Gilmore, Ed.D. This program is the 11th program from Traverse Bay Area ISD  to be selected for this award for exemplary public school speech-language pathology programs in Michigan. MSHA began this award in 1983.
This outstanding program is an excellent example of a community wide program that combines collaboration, creativity, and commitment to benefit a successful experience for children entering Kindergarten. The Traverse Bay Area ISD’s Speech-Language Pathologists and Early Childhood Staff provide spring and fall Kindergarten Round-Up Oral Language Screening for all incoming Kindergarteners using three tools: Boehm-3, administered by all district SLPs, Articulation Screening Rubric (scored with input from parents, early childhood/kindergarten staff, SLP) and the Parent Report of Child Skills (PRCS). Data is used to provide support and training to target students, families and teachers during summer before Kindergarten and/or in early months of Kindergarten. Traverse Bay Area ISD schools have received more MSHA Program of the Year Awards, since MSHA began the Award in 1983, than any other school district in Michigan totaling 11 programs and/or individuals. Congratulations to this outstanding group of Speech-Language Pathologists and for the school district that supports its speech and hearing professionals! MSHA Student Scholarship Recipients 2012
Elaine Ledwon-Robinson, M.S., CCC-SLP Congratulations to the following MSHA student members who received the 2012 MSHA Scholarship Awards:  Courtney Gutowski, B.A., Graduate Student at Wayne State University, will graduate this month with her Master's Degree. Courtney has worked as an intern at Children's Hospital of Michigan this year and after graduation plans to work in a hospital-based setting and eventually pursue a private practice to serve a variety of populations and disorders. She has a B.A. from Michigan State University in Communicative Sciences and Disorders with a specialization in Health Promotion. She has presented at both ASHA and MSHA. Ashley Gutowski, B.A., Graduate Student at Wayne State University, will also graduate this month with her Master's Degree. She also has a B.A. from Michigan State University in Communicative Sciences and Disorders. Ashley wishes to pursue research in the field of pediatrics and she would like to work in a hospital-based setting. Ashley is currently the President of the Wayne State University Student Speech-Language Hearing Association and she has also presented at both ASHA and MSHA. Ashley and Courtney are twin sisters and are from Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Katelyn Cook, B.A., Graduate Student at Michigan State University will also graduate this month with her Master's Degree from Michigan State University, and she will also graduate with a Teaching Certificate and a minor in Psychology. Katelyn has been serving as a Graduate Intern at Sparrow Hospital in Lansing; she has also worked as an intern in Eaton ISD and Holt Schools. Katelyn has learned through her varied practicum experiences how important it is to work with both the patient or student, and their families. She has presented at both ASHA and MSHA and is deeply involved in NSSLHA. Danielle Popielarz, B.A., Graduate Student at Wayne State University, will also graduate this month with her Master's Degree in Speech-Language Pathology and she posseses her B.A. from Michigan State University. Danielle's long term goals include working with a pediatric population and conducting small-scale research projects. She has served as a Graduate Intern in Troy Public Schools, Henry Ford Hospital, and Wayne State University's Outpatient Clinic. Her varied work experiences have led her to pursue working with a pediatric population in the public schools, especially the birth-to-five population. Danielle is from Saginaw, Michigan. Congratulations to these outstanding students for their exemplary academic and professional work achievements. Best of luck to you all in your future endeavors. We are proud that you represent MSHA and you are the best and brightest of our future! Pictured above, l-r: Courtney Gutowski, Ashley Gutkowski, Katelyn Cook, Heather Balog, Richard Merson, and Elaine Ledwon-Robinson, during the MSHA Conference 2012. Special thanks to LinguiSystems Co-founders Linda Bowers and Rosemary Huisingh who have helped support our MSHA scholarships with their gift of $1000.00. We are grateful for your commitment and for the example you set with this support. Thanks also to Psi Iota Xi, the Michigan Association of the national philanthropic organization ded  icated to helping others, with particular support of the speech and hearing professions, in sponsoring a scholarship award of $250.00. This year's award went to Rebecca Beebe, B.A. and Thomas Beebe, students at Grand Valley State University, for their Poster Session: Familial Similarities in the Acoustic Vowel Quadrilateral, coauthored with Beth Macauley, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, also from GVSU. Rebecca and Thomas are mother and son. Congratulations to you both!
MSHF Concert Fun & Profitable!
Fran Eldis, Ph.D., CCC-SLP/A The MSHF Board is grateful to all who came to the concert on Friday, March 23, 2012, during the MSHA Annual Conference in Kalamazoo, to hear the band Crossroads Resurrection. It was fun and the band was fabulous, and we are grateful to them as well for their generous support of MSHA. Thanks also to all of those who contributed funds toward this  event. We continue to try to raise funds to help fund our MSHA scholarships, and we urge you to keep us in mind if you want to give someone a gift of a donation to honor a graduation, a special achievement, and of course honoring a deceased loved by donating to a scholarship foundation is always meaningful. A special thanks to Ellen Fairbrother and Cary Cekola for their extra-ordinary efforts to make this concert happen!
Grand Valley State University Students Honored
Gordon Krainen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP This year's M & M Award (Most Students at MSHA) went to Grand Valley State University! Congrats to all of you for this very distingu  ished award. With 37 students attending MSHA, you beat out CMU by only 3. EMU followed with 30. 25 WSU students were at MSHA, and NMU, MSU, WMU and Andrews University all followed with double digit attendance as well. It was wonderful! We appreciate and encourage our students in both undergraduate and graduate programs to come to MSHA to experience the camaraderie, networking, professional growth, and just fun atf our MSHA conferences!
l-r: Jean Silbar, Rick Merson, and Gordon Krainen, MSHA 2012 News & Notes
Dawn Kutney, MSHA Congratulations to ASHA ACE Winners Congratulations to the following MSHA members who received the ASHA Award for Continuing Education (ACE) during the period of October through December, 2011: Kathryn Atkinson, Central Michigan University Whatever Happened To... We invite all MSHA members who have retired to let us know what you're doing! For our first edition of this feature we will hear from Gene Popielec, M.A., CCC-SLP, retired Speech-Language Pathologist at Henry Ford Hospital and former MSHA Board member. Thanks Gene! Great to hear from you! From Gene... So for those of you MSHA members who have retired, drop me a few lines at msha@att.net and I will include in our next edition of the et cetera, which will come out in late September.
Save the Dates:
MSHA Future Conferences
The Program Committee is busy planning for future MSHA Conferences. Great conference rates are available now for the future, and we also know that booking the dates and sites in advance helps MSHA members to plan for years ahead. Mark your calendars for these future dates/sites for MSHA: 2013: March 21-23, 2013 The Henry Hotel, Dearborn 2014: March 27-29, 2014 Kalamazoo Radisson Hotel 2015: Open - Detroit Metro area Here are some other important dates you may want to put on your calendars: ASHA Schools Conference: July 27-29, 2012, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Public School Committee Notes
Ellen Gehl, M.A., CCC-SLP & LIndsey Halpin, M.S., CCC-SLP This is always a busy time of year for school based speech-language pathologists. While we know the end of the school year is approaching, we also know there is so much work to be done! The MSHA conference in March was loaded with great information and always seems to give that little boost. During the Public School Committee meeting, we had the opportunity to preview the revisions to the Articulation Guidelines. The volunteer committee of Celeste Gerlach, Sally Anderson, Sue Shores and Phyllis Gaulden has been diligently working to provide a document based on the latest research and information. We hope to have the draft document available for review by early Fall. Congratulations to the Traverse Bay Area ISD Oral Communication Universal Screening Program including Joni Bahra, Jean McCormick and Dena Schweitzer. The TBA-ISD SLPs and Early Childhood staff participate in Kindergarten Round Up and screen each child using the Boehm-3, articulation screening rubric and a parent report of child skills. The information gathered is then used to target families and teachers during the summer before kindergarten or during the early months of kindergarten. This innovative model impacted over 1400 students last year (see article in this newsletter). Traverse Bay Area ISD schools have received more MSHA Program of the Year Awards, since MSHA began the Award in 1983, than any other school district in Michigan totaling 11 programs and/or individuals. The PSC meetings are held via Skype, starting at 10:30. The upcoming dates are: August 11, October 13 and January 12, 2013. If you are able to join us, or have any questions, please e-mail us at mshapsc@yahoo.com You'll find an excellent article in the April 3 ASHA Leader, entitled: Bottom Line: Navigating Medicaid Services in Schools by Laurie Alban Havens and Heather Bupp, which addresses Medicaid reimbursement in the public schools and has a Question & Answer format which includes questions about billing, supervision, certification, and ethics. You can find that article with this link: http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2012/120403/Bottom-Line--Navigating-Medicaid In Memoriam
Diane Betman, M.A., CCC-SLP, passed away on March 13, 2012. She was a Speech-Language Pathologist in Bloomfield Hills schools, after having worked for 6 years in the Detroit Public School system prior to that. She was a graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University, with a teaching certificate from Bowling Green University. Our condolences to Diane's family and friends.
Volume 35 Number Three May 2012
This is the newsletter of the:
Michigan Speech-Language-Hearing Association
| From the President
Deanna Klein, M.A., CCC-SLP OK…I have one question…are you in?
How wrong I was. I had a nice "come to Jesus" meeting with myself and really thought long and hard about the journey I had gone through to get to where I am now. I had great experience in diffuse environments and with wonderful people that could do nothing but contribute to understanding many issues within MSHA. There is a wonderful board of people that would support me which made me think of baseball…one person steps up to the plate but it’s the team that wins the game. Of course, Elaine kept at me, encouraging me. I finally told her…I’m in. You may be wondering why I’m sharing my MSHA story on accepting the nomination to be MSHA President. Traditionally, the first message from the president discusses details of the most recent annual conference (Tried and True…and Something New in Kalamazoo was amazing and a huge success!) or updates on hot topics such as issues in the political arena, insurance reimbursement and/or licensure. All issues such as these are extremely important and are being monitored and addressed by the MSHA team on an ongoing basis. Details and updates can always be found on the MSHA web site: www.michiganspeechhearing.org or by contacting the MSHA office or board members directly. I’m sharing my story because the message I want to reinforce with you is what I came to realize: It’s not the level of education, or the location of your job or whether you work full-time, part-time or PRN that should determine your ability to contribute to this organization. It doesn’t matter if you’re an audiologist or speech-language pathologist, or whether you are school based or clinically based. This is your profession and MSHA is the organization that represents your profession. Support it. Nurture it. Contribute to it. Be on a committee. Ask a non-member to join. Don’t be a dabbler. One person CAN make a difference to a team. Be a part of where your profession goes in the future. So, I ask again…are you in?
Thanks for making the MSHA Conference a Success!
Terry Lange-Winkel, M.A, CCC-SLP and Jan McCosky, M.A. The Call for Papers for the MSHA Annual Conference is on-line now. Let us hear from you! We're hard at work planning next year's conference so in the meantime, enjoy the summer and put the MSHA Conference on your calendar for March 21-23, 2013, next year in Dearborn! Questions & Answers regarding the MSHA Annual Conference Q: Could we please have shorter sessions than 3 hours? It is so hard to sit for that amount of time. A: We agree that 3 hours is too long for a Thursday night class, and in 2013 we will try the 2 hour format and will offer 2 classes on Thursday evening, from 6:30 – 8:30, thereby giving you a little more time to have dinner, if you attended the Thursday afternoon session from 1:00 – 4:15, or if you are coming in after having worked all day. But during the day we just can’t justify shortening classes that we pay speaker fees & travel for to offer our members these wonderful speakers from around the country. And of course there is the CEU issue…shorter class times means fewer CEUs. We need to make sure that for each day you are at the MSHA Conference, you can earn the maximum of between 6-8 hours of CEUs. Q: Why can’t we have tables to write on during the classes at MSHA? A: This question gets asked a lot, and we understand why it would be so much easier to sit thro Q: Why was the MSHA Registration Desk in the back of the Exhibition Hall? I had to walk through all the Exhibitors. A: Your question contains the answer. We purposely placed the registration area at the rear of the Exhibition Hall to ensure that MSHA members would have exposure to the exhibitors. All of the companies and individuals who exhibit at MSHA are charged an exhibit fee in order to participate in the conference. Their fees defray the cost of the conference and thereby reduce the registration fee MSHA members pay. With their support, MSHA is able to present a higher quality of conference to its members and we are better able to afford the refreshments given at no additional cost to attendees. Q: Why aren’t there more time breaks between sessions? A: The MSHA Executive Board and Program Committee plan the program in order to bring attendees the most continuing education units for the time and money spent at the annual conference. ASHA rules for continuing education allow counting only time spent in the session as continuing education time. Time for breaks is detracted from each session. So for example, if a three-hour short course has a 15-minute break in the middle, then we have to have an additional 15 minutes so that the amount of CEUs awarded for However we know it is tough to get to sessions that go back- to-back and that is why we like the Radisson in Kalamazoo and THe Henry in Dearborn – everything is close together and our speakers all know you may be rushing from one to another and everyone is very accommodating. Q: Please remind us that we have to download speaker handouts – and could you please ask the speakers to get their handouts to you sooner? A: We apologize for not including the reminder to download handouts in more places – like on the MSHA Registration Form. We will do better next year. We give all of our speakers’ deadlines to get their handouts to us – some of our speakers actually wanted to wait until the conference was over to post their handouts to reinforce what you all hopefully learned in class. But most of our speakers met our deadlines. Some of you complained that the handouts were too long or used up too much ink and we suggest you print in draft form or in black & white. Q: Why does MSHA keep going to just a couple of hotels in Michigan – why not Grand Rapids or Soaring Eagle or Traverse City? A: Ok, let’s answer the 1st part of this question. The MSHA bylaws require the MSHA Conference to be in the Detroit metro area every other year – this is where a majority of our members live and work. But we are also committed to reaching the western and upper part of our state as well. We have a couple of issues that we have to consider when choosing hotels: we need an adequate number of sleeping rooms and we need a relatively large number of meeting rooms to hold classes – and this is the tricky part. Many hotels do not meet both of these requirements. Some hotels that do, are too expensive for us. Now for the 2nd part: we used to go to the Amway Grand in Grand Rapids, but they began to require us to book 5 years in advance, and they are an expensive hotel. Those 2 factors alone made it risky to go there. We will research other hotels in the Grand Rapids area, but again we have the other requirements we have to meet. We have gone to the Grand Traverse Resort and to Shanty Creek in northern Michigan. However, we always have lower attendance at these locations and it is just not cost-effective. We wish we could offer a closer venue for our members in the Upper Peninsula and upper lower Michigan, but we just cannot afford it in these times. Q: Why can’t MSHA offer conferences free to its members – or why can’t it be cheaper for us to attend? A: MSHA is committed to bringing the highest quality, evidence based, affordable continuing education and professional development to its members. We are also committed to creating the atmosphere for our members to learn from each other, renew friendships and acquaintances, and revive energies and enthusiasm in the informal networking activities such as our annual luncheon and receptions. In order to fulfill this promise, MSHA must pay the bills. Even with our best efforts to negotiate the best rates and to keep costs low, thereby increasing participation by our members, here are some concrete examples of costs associated with the annual conference and these costs do increase every year as do all our purchases: Meals and refreshments Q: Why do we have to pay $10 to MSHA, and also pay ASHA for CEUs? A: MSHA pays ASHA $830.00 per year to be eligible to sponsor CEU activities such as the MSHA conference. MSHA also has its own administrative costs associated with awarding CEUs such as postage, copying, attendance certificates, and staff time. The minimal $10 fee helps to offset this cost to MSHA. Because CEUs – both State Board (SB) and ASHA – are new to some, and can be confusing for others, and because we get asked so many questions about both, we plan to offer a class next year: Continuing Education 101. A basic level course; Targeted audience: students,CFYs, anyone really. The course will include basic information on CEUs and clinical maintenance hours, how to earn them and document them, submitting them, why MSHA and ASHA charges for them, etc. We will offer this class twice during the conference. Stay tuned for more details! Q: Why didn’t we get email confirmations prior to the conference? A: We apologize – we had hoped to do so but a combination of factors prevented us from doin Q: Could we have more time to visit Poster Sessions and Exhibitors? A: Yes we will schedule this better next year. Thank you for all of your comments and questions! They will help us as we plan for future conferences! Licensing Applications Available Online
Julie Pratt, M.S., CCC-SLP The Speech-Language Pathology license application is online and many of you have begun the process and are currently licensed SLPs in our state! A link to the LARA website to download the application when available is: http://www.michigan.gov/lara Here are some of the questions and answers we put together for the recent MSHA Annual Conference in March: State of Michigan Licensure Answers to the Most Frequently Asked Questions ● Licensure went into place December 7, 2011. 2. Cost: Initial license is good for only one year or less, and will be renewed in September of 2012 REGARDLESS of when (i.e. what month) you were granted your initial license. Criminal Background Check: $62.50 (one-time fee). Application fee: $20.00 (one-time fee). 1st Year license fee: $75.00 ● Renewal Fees: Renewal fees are for 2 years and will always renew in September. 2 Year license fee: $150.00 ● Educational Limited License (Clinical Fellowship Year) License fee: $170.00 3. Types of License: ● Full Speech-Language Pathology License (by examination or endorsement) If you have your Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCCs), had them and dropped them, or completed all requirements to obtain CCCs and never got them, you qualify for this license. If you have a Teaching Certificate with an endorsement in Speech-Language Impairment and do not qualify to obtain your CCCs, you qualify for this license. You may ONLY practice in the school setting. You may NOT supervise someone completing their clinical fellowship experience. ● Educational Limited License Those graduating after January 1, 2012 and starting their clinical fellowship experience, must apply for this license. You MUST be supervised by a fully licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. 4. Licensure Lapse ● If your license has lapsed less than 3 years you may reapply and qualify for a license. ● If your license has lapsed for greater than 3 years, you may reapply for licensure if you re-take and pass the Praxis Examination or show that you have been licensed in a another state. ● If you have a limited license to work only in the schools and your license lapses less than 3 years, you may re-apply as long as you have employment or a contract with a school district, non-public school, or a state department that provides these services. ● If you have a limited license and your license lapses for greater than 3 years, you will have to meet the requirements for a full and unlimited license in order to renew. 5. ASHA CCCs ● The law does not and cannot mandate that you continue to maintain your Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC). ● An employer, insurance company, or third party payor can however, mandate that you have your CCCs in addition to licensure. ● ASHA and MSHA encourage all professionals to continue maintaining their CCCs for many reasons. ************************************************************* This document is for informational use only, prepared for MSHA members at the 2012 MSHA Annual Conference. For further information contact the State of Michigan, Licensing & Regulatory Agency, at www.michigan.gov or bhpinfo@michigan.gov ASHA Advisory Council Notes
Margot Beckerman Au.D., CCC-A & Karen Kurcz, M.A., CCC-SLP Margot L. Beckerman, Au.D., CCC-A (Audiology) and Karen B. Kurcz, M.A., CCC-SLP (Speech-Language Pathology) participated in the 2012 ASHA Advisory Council Meetings from March 15-18, 2012 at the ASHA National Office. The ASHA Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Councils provide recommendations and information “from the trenches” to the ASHA Board of Directors about issues of interest to the Association and its members. Councilors from each of the professions are elected by each state and the District of Columbia, with one representative from the international territories and NSSHLA. On March 16, 2012, Margot and Karen, accompanied by fellow Michigander Jaynee Handelsman, ASH • Allow states to include Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists as providers in federally funded Literacy Programs During the Advisory Council meeting, councilors provided feedback to ASHA on a variety of topics: Each Advisory Council met separately to discuss issues within the respective disciplines. Highlights of these discussions are below: Speech-Language Pathology Audiology ASHA’s Board of Directors (BOD) encourages feedback and direct contact with the BOD regarding issues impacting the professions. All members have direct access to the BOD to bring up concerns and issues, simply go to www.asha.org/about/governance/membersintouch.htm to provide your feedback. Save the Date for our First Fall Conference
Bev Jaynes, M.A., CCC-SLP, MSHA VP for SLP Healthcare You Don't Have to Know Everything to Do Something: Using Mobile Technology in the Treatment of Adults and Children The Health Care Services Committee is pleased to announce its first Fall Program event to be held Thursday evening November 1, 2012, 4:00 - 7:30 pm, at Beaumont Health System, Main Campus, in the Auditorium, Royal Oak, Michigan. You Don't Have to Know Everything to Do Something conference will feature speakers Lisa G. Bardach, M.S., CCC-SLP, Communicating Solutions LLC, and Patricia Nizio, M.A., CCC-SLP, Children's Hospital of Michigan, on the topic of using mobile devices with pediatric and adult clients. .3 CEUs are available, and the cost is $40 for MSHA members and $55 for non-MSHA members. The event listing and registration instructions for this conference are online now at www.michiganspeechearing.org In Other News from the Health Care Services Committee... Scaffolding for Success & M.A.C. on MAC
Angelique Boerst, M.A., CCC-A, VP for Audiology Services Thanks to all those who attended “Scaffolding for Success” workshop Friday, April 27, 2012. There were over 60 people in attendance. As always, it was great to see so many new and familiar faces. As promised, here is some information related to Friday’s discussion. If there is other information not included in this email, please feel free to contact me. The recent Medicaid policy update related to bilateral cochlear implants and auditory osseointegrated devices can be found at: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/MSA_12-05_378131_7.pdf CSHCS provider information page: http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/0,1607,7-132-2942_4911 Who to contact at CSHCS” http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdch/CSHCS_Directory_199880_7.pdf Local health department contacts by county (ask for CSHCS nurse): http://www.michigan.gov/mdch/ Payment agreement guide for CSHCS: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/MSA-0738-B_Payment_Guide_165990_7.pdf The websites discussed in the last portion of the workshop included: Success for Kids with Hearing Loss: http://successforkidswithhearingloss.com/ Guide to Access Planning: http://www.phonakonline.com/MyGap/GapMain.html Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/omim Deaf/Hard of Hearing Educational Impact Matrix: http://mde-lio.cenmi.org/Services/StudentsWhoAreDeafandorHardofHearing/Instructionaland Don’t forget to mark your calendars for these upcoming meetings! October 25 - 26, 2012
March 7 - 8, 2013 March 21-23, 2013 |
| et cetera - May 2012 | |
Thanks also to those who came to the Grand Rapids Griffins game, on Friday, April 13, which also helped raise funds for the MSHF. It couldn't be determined what was more fun - the $1 beer & hot dog prices - or the sight of fans being slung across the ice by a giant catalpult. We don't know if they were MSHA members...but they did wear helmets so at least the risk of head injury was lowered! We will continue to participate in this event when the season resumes, so stay tuned to MSHA!
Approximately 3 years ago, Elaine Ledwon–Robinson asked me if I’d ever be interested in accepting a nomination for President of MSHA. I told her that it really wasn’t a good time but maybe in the future. Internally I was thinking… what do I have to offer? At the time, the company that I worked for lost the contract at the facility I was at and I had just started a part time job. I wasn’t a manager, I wasn’t published, I don’t have a Ph.D. I felt that perhaps I wasn’t a “real” speech pathologist, maybe I was more of a dabbler. I went to work a few hours a day and anything going on in the world of speech-language pathology didn’t involve me and if it did, what could I do about it? I was only one person. I felt that everything going on outside my silo was none of my business and someone else would take care of it. 
Thanks to all 
We take very seriously your input and evaluations from the conference and we've read through all of them, and will print several below with answers and with some plans for changes in the near future. We are already negotiating with invited speakers for next year's conference: March 21-23, 2013, at The Henry Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan. Our theme is: 
ugh any length of class with a writing surface in front of you. The trouble is to do this would cut in half the amount of people who could be in the room for the session. It would just not be fair to our members to have our seating capability so decreased.
that session will be .3. Balancing the time spent in sessions versus the time between sessions for breaks is not an easy task and one that the program committee tries to improve every year. But 10 minute breaks would add up over the day, and would mean a decrease in the amount of CEUs possible.
g so – including technological problems and a tremendous influx of late registrations. We promise to do better next year.
A Vice-President for Audiology Practice, (pictured here with Deanna Klein l-r) went to Capitol Hill to meet with staff in the offices of Senator Debbie Stabenow, Senator Carl Levin, and Representative Tim Walberg. During each of these legislative visits, support was requested for legislative issues important to Audiologists and Speech-Language Pathologists:
ncerns as presented. Ann Comstock at U of M Health systems has volunteered to be our lead pediatric resource. The committee as a whole, with the help of our STAR and SMAC representatives will monitor as Michigan transitions from NGS to WPS as our Medicare intermediary. Also, we are looking at the MDCH proposed policy on Integrated Care (for those Michigan residents who are Medicaid and Medicare eligible.)
