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For information: contact:

                                                          Carl Wangman, IARP Headquarters -                                                                 888-427-7722

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IARP Adds Substance to "Fellow Designation" for Life Care Planner

Glenview, Illinois - April 15, 2014 - The "Fellow" designation program for a life care planner, given by the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, was recently enhanced by a task force of members who wrestled for more than two years to straighten out and strengthen it.   

          The revisions, announced by IARP this month, include three substantial changes. (1) They ascribe to standards of practice, (2) they outline a system for processing complaints, and (3) they describe in detail the renewal process to retain one's Fellow designation, according to Gerri Pennachio, chairman of the oversight task force and a certified life care planner and vocational expert based in Lakeland, Fla.

          "Several years ago we realized that very few people were applying to become Life Care Planning (LCP) 'Fellows,'" she said. "The designation had lost its meaning. Several of us found that disappointing and set out to do something about it."   

          The group of eight members, representative of diverse careers within the private rehabilitation field, met over the phone many times to review, discuss and determine what ultimately needed to be done to reactivate the Fellow program.

          "The back-and-forth process was time-consuming but valuable to the outcome," said Pennachio. "With the new standards we intend to strengthen the program. We've made the criteria more stringent to exemplify the quality standards of practice we want to guide our profession."

          The 10 criteria an applicant must achieve before becoming an LCP Fellow have been in place for several years. The task force retained many of these criteria but importantly expanded the required amount of life care planning experience to five years, said Pennachio.

          "We've approached the IARP Life Care Planning section IALCP Board to apply first for the Fellow designation and hope they set an example for other certified life care planners to follow," she said. Pennachio and the Life Care Planning representative to the IARP Board Steve Yuhas (of The Directions Group, Inc. in Mount Pleasant, S.C.,) will be the first to apply under the revised program, she said.

          In addition to Pennachio, other established life care planners made up the task force,including Marianne Boeing of VoCare Services, Inc., Cleveland,Ohio; Steven R. Cooley of Steven R. Cooley, Inc., Ellenton, Fla.; Cheryl Kaufman of CK Medical Legal Consulting Services, Taunton, Mass.; Sherry A. Latham of Oklahoma Medical Legal Consulting Services, Norman, Okla.; Karen Preston, RNS Healthcare Consultants, Inc., Sacramento, Calif.; Paula Zinsmeister, VoCare Services, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; and Kathleen Ryan Kuntz, Rehab Advantage, Inc., Jamison, Pa.                                                 

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For information: contact:

                                                          Carl Wangman, IARP Headquarters -                                                                 888-427-7722

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IARP Adds Substance to "Fellow Designation" for Life Care Planner

Glenview, Illinois - April 15, 2014 - The "Fellow" designation program for a life care planner, given by the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals, was recently enhanced by a task force of members who wrestled for more than two years to straighten out and strengthen it.   

          The revisions, announced by IARP this month, include three substantial changes. (1) They ascribe to standards of practice, (2) they outline a system for processing complaints, and (3) they describe in detail the renewal process to retain one's Fellow designation, according to Gerri Pennachio, chairman of the oversight task force and a certified life care planner and vocational expert based in Lakeland, Fla.

          "Several years ago we realized that very few people were applying to become Life Care Planning (LCP) 'Fellows,'" she said. "The designation had lost its meaning. Several of us found that disappointing and set out to do something about it."   

          The group of eight members, representative of diverse careers within the private rehabilitation field, met over the phone many times to review, discuss and determine what ultimately needed to be done to reactivate the Fellow program.

          "The back-and-forth process was time-consuming but valuable to the outcome," said Pennachio. "With the new standards we intend to strengthen the program. We've made the criteria more stringent to exemplify the quality standards of practice we want to guide our profession."

          The 10 criteria an applicant must achieve before becoming an LCP Fellow have been in place for several years. The task force retained many of these criteria but importantly expanded the required amount of life care planning experience to five years, said Pennachio.

          "We've approached the IARP Life Care Planning section IALCP Board to apply first for the Fellow designation and hope they set an example for other certified life care planners to follow," she said. Pennachio and the Life Care Planning representative to the IARP Board Steve Yuhas (of The Directions Group, Inc. in Mount Pleasant, S.C.,) will be the first to apply under the revised program, she said.

          In addition to Pennachio, other established life care planners made up the task force,including Marianne Boeing of VoCare Services, Inc., Cleveland,Ohio; Steven R. Cooley of Steven R. Cooley, Inc., Ellenton, Fla.; Cheryl Kaufman of CK Medical Legal Consulting Services, Taunton, Mass.; Sherry A. Latham of Oklahoma Medical Legal Consulting Services, Norman, Okla.; Karen Preston, RNS Healthcare Consultants, Inc., Sacramento, Calif.; Paula Zinsmeister, VoCare Services, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio; and Kathleen Ryan Kuntz, Rehab Advantage, Inc., Jamison, Pa.                                                 

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