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Kansas R.T.s Unite for Patient Advocacy

Dear Kansas R.T.:

My name is Sharon Wartenbee. I am the current Legislative Chairperson for the State of South Dakota and the Chairperson of the ASRT Committee on R.T. Advocacy. As a neighbor and fellow R.T. working in South Dakota, I know the importance of education, training and credentailing for medical imaging and radiation therapy personnel. I am currently working with the ASRT to "Build a network" of R.T.s in Kansas who are interested in advocating for their state and profession. As you know, not all states have standards for people utilizing ionizing radiation. As part of this advocacy outreach I am asking R.T.s in Kansas to advocate for current legislation at the national level that would improve imaging standards for those who perform medical imaging and radiation therapy.

H.R. 3652, the Consistency, Accuracy, Responsibility and Excellence (CARE) in Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy bill was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. John Barrow (D-12-Ga) on Sept. 2, 2009. The CARE bill will ensure that individuals perfroming all levels of medical imaging and radiation therapy are qualified.

It is important to build support of H.R. 3652 quickly. Our goal is to reach at least 100 cosponsors in the House of Representatives by mid-June(we are currently at 94 cosponsors). It is very simple to contact your representatives in Kansas by using the e-Advocacy site on the ASRT website. Simply go to http://capwiz.com/asrt/home/; select the "Take Action" button, add a brief personal message and complete the "sender information", and the note will automatically be composed and routed to your Representatives office. It would also be helpful to phone their office or fax your own letter asking for support.

I will contact you from time to time with important updates happening with the CARE bill and would like to hear back from you with any questions or concerns. I can be contacted at Wartenbee@sio.midco.net . Please take a few minutes out of your busy day to show your support for certification standards of all individuals performing medical imaging and radiation therapy procedures. Our patients deserve qualilty health care!

Thank You.

Sharon Wartenbee, RT(R),(BD),CDT,FASRT
ASRT Committee on R.T. Advocacy, Chairperson