Dear Idaho Occupational Therapy Practitioner,
The Idaho Division of Professional and Occupational Licenses has put forth proposed legislation, House Bill 28, to the House Health and Welfare Committee that would dissolve our current OT licensure board structure and create a new Allied Health Professionals Board that would be made up of nine total members representing occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, dietetics and respiratory/polysomnographers.
Please access the PDF of the House Bill 28 here.
Lisa Baxter Hong and I have been working hard behind the scenes with both our lobbyist Caroline Meritt and State Affairs Managers from AOTA, initially testifying against this bill on February 2nd when it was first introduced in the House Health and Welfare Committee, two meetings this past week on February 8th and 10th with DOPL members and the respective involved associations to get to this point where we are ready to really have our respective talking points expressed.
The IOTA and the AOTA are BOTH staunchly against this bill, and we have created a template letter for you to use to add your name and the Representatives’ name, please access it at the link provided here.
Access the Template Letter Here
Here are the list of Health and Welfare Committee Representatives and their respective emails.
Chair John Vander Woude = JVanderWoude@house.idaho.gov
Vice Chair Marco Adam Erickson = MErickson@house.idaho.gov
Megan Blanksma = MBlanksma@house.idaho.gov
Mike Kingsley = MKingsley@house.idaho.gov
Brandon Mitchell = BMitchell@house.idaho.gov
Chenele Dixon = CDixon@house.idaho.gov
Jacyn Gallagher = JGallagher@house.idaho.gov
Dori Healey = DHealey@house.idaho.gov
Jordan Redman = JRedman@house.idaho.gov
Josh Wheeler = JoshWheeler@house.idaho.gov
Sue Chew = SChew@house.idaho.gov
Ilana Rubel = IRubel@house.idaho.gov
Nate Roberts = NRoberts@house.idaho.gov
OUR ASK is to PLEASE put your name into the letter, MAKE IT PERSONAL with your view point, then copy it or attach it to each of the Representatives emails, and EMAIL, EMAIL, EMAIL ALL of the Representatives to let them know this is not good for the public or the practice of occupational therapy in the state of Idaho. An individual letter to each representative is best.
PLEASE DON’T DELAY, EMAIL THEM TODAY, as this bill goes before the House Health and Welfare Committee THIS WEEK of 2/13-2/17.
Best,
The Idaho Occupational Therapy Association
Megan Doyle, President
Lisa Baxter Hong, Legislative/Reimbursement/Advocacy Chair