A message from
VACVPR President
Wendy Taylor, M.S., CCRP
AACVPR Annual Meeting September 9-12, 2015
I had the opportunity to attend the annual cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation conference in Washington,
D.C. last month. There were a lot of dynamic presenter’s sharing great information. Many presentations
were about programs that are thinking outside the box to grow. They are offering cancer and stroke rehab
programs, lipid clinics, community health education and heart failure programs. Several presentations
mentioned the positive influence laughter has on exercise classes. Try to find ways to incorporate
laughter in your day with coworkers and your patients. Share a funny video or tell a joke. Interact with
your patients while they exercise, get out from behind the monitor. It will help you learn more about what
may be limiting them or goals they might not have shared with you. We were told to be prepared for
ICD 10 and expect denials but no one took on that subject directly. it was suggested that each state form a
MAC committee to be prepared to help programs handle any denials that happen as a result of the ICD 10
code implementation. AACVPR is trying to get the word out early about the details of their annual
events. First, the Day on the Hill (DOTH) is scheduled for March 23-24th, 2016 in Washington, DC and
second, the World Heart Games is scheduled for May 2016 in Charlotte, NC. AACVPR is looking for
committee members so if you have any interest in becoming more involved at the national level contact
them and see what committees need representation. Overall the conference was a great opportunity to
network with other programs throughout the country and verify what you are currently doing in your
program is correct. If you are interested in more information about the national conference you can look
at their website for the opportunity to view webinars from the conference.
The VACVPR board is trying to find all the cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs in the state of
Virginia. We have a good start on the list based on our membership but we know there are more
programs out there that we are not reaching. If you know of more programs in Virginia, think of
neighboring programs, that may not be involved with the state or national organization please send an
email with their name and contact information to our email address vacvpr1987@gmail.com.
I have benefitted greatly from being on the board of the VACVPR over the last 10 + years. It has been a
tremendous opportunity to learn more about other programs in the state, stay current on changes in
regulations, make valuable friends and grow professionally in my career. We are always looking for new
board or committee members. If you would like to learn more about what may be expected of you if you
were to get involved reach out to one of the current board members or drop us an email. We would be
happy to share our experiences with you.
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