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This page was last modified on: 03/03/2007
Maintained by Legislative Committee of WADE
Pat Haldi and Shirley Vacanti
This year’s legislative day was open to any WADE member who would like to attend and experience the “buzz” of our state legislation. Thanks again to Donna Christensen (WADE”S lobbyist) for helping in the organization of the day. We had eight members attending and everyone stated that the day was filled with much activity and as always everyone soaked in the excitement and legislative business in the air!
We started out the day with a few of us meeting at 0900 with legislators. When attending WADE legislative Day, you have to be ready to shift and change as the legislator’s schedules also vary. The day is filled with learning, sharing, and soaking in the experience. All of the attendees had meetings set up by Donna with the legislator from their district. We were to share any diabetes concerns from our practice, personal input, etc…we had about 5 minutes maximum to present our information. Two years ago, we were able to get a memorial passed supporting diabetes educators as billable health care providers, last year we came at a busy caucus time and had to try and meet our legislators outside the chambers, and this year we had individual appointments. Out of this experience; we have concluded that an educational workshop would be helpful to the entire membership in order to understand the legislative process and how we can share statewide concerns to the lawmakers. Personally, I wondered if my experience of going to Olympia and feeling like a “fish out of water” wasn’t much different than our patients who have never been in a large health care system before, as they try to grasp the lingo and navigate the medical world.
While people attended their appointed meetings, we had our own legislative meeting within the Senate Rule’s Room. We discussed the following legislative topics which affect the educators of our state. The following topics were discussed;
CDE House Bill which will be introduced at the U.S. Congress this year. Pat Haldi has been in touch with the AADE and will be writing an article updating everyone within WADE. This is an important bill, if passed, would recognize CDE’s as billable healthcare providers. It had died once before(the year of our memorial) and the hope is that it will pass this time around. Pat will instruct everyone on how you can make a difference and how you can reach your national congressman/woman. (see Pat’s article)
PDA issue
We looked at the Law (6641) which was passed in March of 2002. This law protects the rights of children with diabetes in the schools. Within this law, parents can appoint a designated adult(PDA) to give insulin, check blood sugars, etc if that person has had the proper education/training and the parent obtains legal documentation of that intent. The question of legal protection of the CDE has been brought to the WADE board multiple times and we have decided to issue a statement. The following paragraph within the law was carefully looked at along with input from the ADA which was instrumental in getting this legislation passed. We have come a long way in protecting the children’s rights in the schools and we would not want to hinder the further care of these children. The following is the paragraph from the law (ESSB 6641) which we reviewed at the Legislative Day.
“A school district, school district employee, agent, or parent-designated adult who, acting in good faith and in substantial compliance with the student’s individual health plan and the instructions of the student’s licensed health care professional, provides assistance or services under section 1 or 2 of this act shall not be liable in any criminal action or for civil damages in his or her individual or marital or governmental or corporate or other capacities as a result of the services provided under 1 or 2 of this act to students with diabetes.”
The WADE board discussed this at length and feels that the CDE’s role would fall under the term agent.
The statutory language has been thoroughly analyzed. OSPI guidelines are very clear. If you have any further questions, we would suggest that you discuss this with our local ADA, the organization instrumental in getting this law passed. ADA is working diligently with the national ADA legal counsel to continue the protection of our children with diabetes in the schools. We do not want to jeopardize this hard won law when it clearly provides the liability protection in the above paragraph.
Discussion of various bills presented at the 2008 WA State Legislative session of interest to the diabetes community;
Senate Bill 6223, an act relating to authorizing emergency medical technicians to administer glucagon in emergency situations.
Senate Bill 6220, an act relating to delegation of nursing tasks to care for persons with diabetes.
c. House Bill 3160, relating to the availability of nutrition information and Senate Bill 6786, creating a legislative task force on menu labeling.
At the end of these discussions, it was recognized that WADE would like to become more involved with health care committees regarding diabetes in the state of Washington. A few people suggested that they would make the trip to Olympia to offer testimony if necessary on bills which could use our help. I have your names, so be ready on a moment’s notice to be called! Any other person in the WADE community who would like to contribute in this manner, feel free to contact me.
Throughout this meeting, people were coming and going to appointments, so we were a mini-hub of activity ourselves! We had lunch in the Pritchard Library cafeteria where many Olympia legislative attendees were gathering…again always lots of conversation and energy.
After lunch, Jan Norman gave a very informative presentation regarding the Washington State Diabetes Collaborative and present/future efforts of the Department of Health. We all felt we were better informed and definitely would suggest this as a possible topic at our next WADE annual meeting, along with organizing a method to gather information regarding diabetes issues across the state pertaining to our diabetes educators. We also met Laura Pennington, who will be working with Jan at the Collaborative.
The day did not end at 2 PM, we then went on to the Boldt Diabetes Center at St. Peter’s hospital to conduct our board meeting….we all headed home around 6 PM….a very long, rewarding day! Thank you everyone who made the effort, I hope you found it as fulfilling as I did.
Respectfully submitted,
Shirley Vacanti RN BSN CDE
Swedish Pediatric Specialty Care Clinic
Pediatric Endocrinology
Ask your Congressional Represenative to support H.R. 4218 Amendment to Social Security Act Title XV111-Medicare Coverage of Certified Diabetes Educator Services.
Simple & Quick
- Go to http://www.diabeteseducator.org/ select Policy and Advocacy from the tool bar, from the pull down menu click on the Advocacy Action Center, enter your ID number and password.
- Enter your zip code at "Find Your Officials"
- Click on "e-mail to" under one of your Represenatives
- Select "HR 4218"
- Click on "Next Step"
- Complete the pre-written message with your ID information
- Follow the directions to send the message
- You are done and can go back to send a message to another official
Thank you
2008 Legislative Committee Update:
Is The Diabetes Educator The Dinosaur Of The Future?
The answer to this question could be YES if the US Congress does not pass DMST H.R. 4218 this session. Linda M. Siminerio, RN, PhD, CDE writes about this possibility in her recent article Is The Diabetes Educator Our Next Endangered Species? Lessons From The American Bald It is a fact that programs are closing and educators are looking at new roles yet the diabetes epidemic continues to escalate. This could be bad news. However, if Diabetes Educators become recognized as Medicare Providers and eligible for reimbursement for services then this will change.
The future is up to us.
What can we do?
First, be informed. Know the history and facts behind DMST H.R. 4218. You can get this information on the AADE web site http://www.diabeteseducator.org/ under legislation.
Second, take action. Send messages to our Congressional Representatives asking them to co-sponsor H.R. 4218. It is a shame that not one of our Representatives in DC has signed on as a co-sponsor. Since this is an election year, we have a huge opportunity to make our voices heard.
One great idea is to make an appointment with your District Congressional Representative during his/her Spring break, March 17-28, as he/she will be in their district office at that time. Personal visits are an effective method of grassroots advocacy. These visits lay the groundwork for future communication with the legislator and his or her staff. A face-to-face meeting in the member's district office is well worth the time and effort. AADE has excellent resources to help you including points to make and form letters to use. For more information on H.R. 4218 and help in contacting, your district representatives go to http://www.diabeteseducator.org/ and www.congress.org.
Submitted by Pat Haldi, President Elect
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