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IARP CONNECT Code of Conduct

  • 1.  Discussion update

    Posted 02-26-2023 11:24

    Dear Members of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals:

    I wanted to respond to the recent decision regarding the format of the annual conference and fall forum. Please understand that the responsibility of the IARP board is to represent every member in all sections. The decision to offer a virtual and in person conference was based on recent survey results from our members, the need to be fiscally responsible, and the need to ensure pre-approved CEU credits for all those in attendance.  

    Additionally, as many of you are aware, a decision was made to rename what has historically been our annual Life Care Planning Symposium. We recognize the importance of history and tradition so this decision was not made lightly.  

    The rationale for this change has been shared with the leadership of the Life Care Planning Section and discussions occurred regarding the reasoning behind this move. The fear is that we cannot get CEUs if the event is called a symposium.

    Due to a dispute between ICHCC and members of the Life Care Planning community, those credentials have been placed in jeopardy.  While the primary issues between ICHCC and the Section have been resolved, some lingering resentments exist.

    We have had meetings with ICHCC board members, with both IARP board members and section board members involved, over the last year and a half. Numerous efforts have been made to resolve the issues and maintain certification; however little progress has been made at this time.

    As a Life Care Planner myself, I recognize the importance of certifications within our profession. So, the importance of re-establishing a collaboration between IARP and ICHCC is not lost on me.  Therefore, the IARP Board decided, with full knowledge of the Section representatives to the Board, to drop the term symposium from the annual event in an attempt to ensure pre-approved continuing educational units to all of our members.  This decision meant that we needed to place educational the needs of our IARP membership under a broader, conference format.

    At the 2022 conference in Fort Worth, continuing educational units were pre-approved, including LCP tracks, but not for the symposium. This created a precedent to going forward. ICHCC has indicated that a life care planner may, upon renewal, ask for approval of conferences, summits, meetings, etc. and we have been told that this approval has come through for some members.

    Granted, a simple name change seems like a small step but it is our belief that this is a symbolic way to show that we desire to move forward.  We, as a Board, hope this will demonstrate to ICHCC our desire to rebuild what was once a bond between our organizations.

    Not everyone is happy with this decision and that is understandable.  However, we are not taking anything away from anyone. The Life Care Planning section still has the same autonomy, freedom to be creative, and the ability to continue providing the high quality, top-notch programming that we have experienced for years.

    The IARP conference, both virtual and in-person, allows for creativity, planning, coordination, and continued excellent programming and content for every section. There is time for each section to design and develop programming for all of the section members requests and input.

    We know that this has all been very confusing and difficult to understand.  As IARP President and a life care planner and member of this section, I can assure you that the board, the section leaders, and the representative to the board have been working through these issues for a long time. The IARP board examined the finances, the needs of all of the members, and the attempts to resolve the continuing education concerns for members of the Life Care Planning section which has been central to this matter.

    I have been a proponent of collaboration and communication for a great while and continue to hope we can find resolution to these challenges. Life Care Planning – IALCP is important to IARP. It is important to me. Trying to do the right thing may not always be what we all want.

    We are meeting again on Monday and will be discussing the LCP's formal request that we reconsider the name change.  I am certain we will continue communicating in a productive and honest manner. Strategies for continued cooperation and communication are on the agenda and the results from the LCP survey will be an important part of this discussion.  I urge you all to participate!

    Sincerely,

    Anne Savage Veh

    2023 IARP President



    ------------------------------
    Anne Savage Veh
    Vocational Consultant, Certified Life Care Planner
    ASV Consulting, LLC.
    Toledo, Ohio
    annesveh@asvconsultingllc.com
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Discussion update

    Posted 02-26-2023 13:13
    Edited by John R. Cary 03-13-2023 18:42
    As a clinically practicing VRC and case manager who develops and implements Life Care Plans, and as an IALCP member, I find the rationale behind the recent changes to the symposium tradition and format concerning.
    I explored LCP credentialing through the ICHCC and made the conscious decision not to pursue this credential because: 1. Their inability to achieve accreditation and change to non-profit status, despite soliciting their membership for donations. 2. The veracity of the credential is in direct conflict with the expectations set forth by the IALCP many years ago, and contrary to the standards of my other credentials, CRC and CDMS. 
    For the IARP board to make a decision out of "fear" is a telling indication of the power that ICHCC is wielding, not only over IALCP, but over IARP as a whole. I find this unethical and an inappropriate violation of IARP's sovereignty. 
    What's so egregious about the term "Symposium" that warrants declining CEUs? Symposium is defined as "A conference or meeting to discuss a particular subject." This is clearly not the reason behind why pre-approved CEUs are being denied by the ICHCC. It is clearly an exercise of power.
    I personally do not have a vested interest in ICHCC. I do have a vested interest in my membership in IARP and IALCP. I would encourage that we pay close attention to the current course of IARP and think deeply about the long term ramifications to decisions made at the behest of any for-profit and unaccredited entities. 
    Thank you,

    John R. Cary, MA, CRC, CDMS
    OSC Vocational Systems, Inc
    601 SW 152 nd Street Burien, WA 98166
    200 Palouse Street # 201, Wenatchee, WA 98801
    (206) 243-1300 ex. 9222
    Fax: (425) 486-8701

    Note: I will be out of the office 02/27/2023 to 03/13/2023.

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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Discussion update

    Posted 02-28-2023 14:14
    I have been following the numerous posts regarding decisions that have been made that significantly impact the profession of life care planning. Thank you to my colleagues for your insightful, thoughtful, and well articulated comments. I would like to specifically thank Nick Choppa and the Board of IALCP for your pro-active leadership by formulating a survey to reach out to all IARP members and the community of life care planners to ensure that you received as much input as possible prior to meeting with the IARP board. I appreciate the tireless efforts of our current board for taking the actions needed to ensure that they had an accurate understanding of the concerns of the majority of life care planners, as well their visions for the future educational opportunities, networking, and the profession as a whole.

    It has been interesting to review the various posts and I am still trying to digest the various perspectives. As a prior board member, I have an understanding of the dynamic and decision making process. As I am no longer a board member, I do not feel that it would be appropriate for me to provide any opinion as to how decisions are being made now that impact the profession. I trust our current leadership and our liaison to the IARP board to accurately communicate the needs of the IALCP community.

    Like Sherry, Dana, Heidi, Tracy, Susan, Cloie and so many others who have posted, I have over twenty years invested in this profession that I am passionate about. I specifically chose to pursue training, education and certification to become a Certified Life Care Planner, rather than pursing nurse life care planning. I chose this direction because I wanted the opportunity to create relationships and collaborate with rehabilitation professionals from diverse backgrounds. This decision has been validated over and over again as I have had the honor of meeting and developing friendships with vocational rehabilitation counselors, physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, language speech pathologists.....well the list goes on and on. So like so many of the rest of you, I want to do what needs to be done to preserve this valuable organization. Also, as I move towards the twilight of my career, I am trying to ensure that this profession maintains its existence and integrity for the wonderful young women who are now working for me and who have been following ALL of the posts in the past few weeks. It is hard to keep them from being disenchanted with all the politics that are currently plaguing our field. They are very concerned by the "new" process for acquiring CE's and the appearance that we can submit a request for CE's from ICHCC after the Summit and Symposium in addition to having to pay a fee. Once you do that on an individual basis and pay an additional fee above and beyond what was spent to attend these conferences, you can get CE's. Is that even ethical?

    Finally, I have to admit that reading John's post from February 26th, I felt relieved that someone had the guts to articulate what, I think, is reflective of the opinion of a lot of us. We have many esteemed, lifetime achievement award winners, who are not certified, for the very reasons that John articulated. I personally will not be renewing my CLCP certification and will do as Rebecca suggests and pursue Fellow distinction.

    I hope the meetings between the IALCP board and IARP board have been productive, meaningful and will provide a consensus and mutually beneficial path moving forward. Also, as a presenter of both in person and virtual education, I see the value of both platforms. I do think virtual webinars are highly effective, as evidenced by Dr. Bagnell's recent excellent webinar on pediatric life care planning. However, I don't think we can dismiss the value of in person conferences/symposiums/summits, or whatever you want to call it. The virtual conferences can't replace the opportunity to give each other a hug, and well, meet at the bar or go on a run/walk and just talk.

    Also, just a side FYI, when I won the $660 cash from the raffle at the Portland Symposium, I did send a check to the Brain Injury Network for the full amount.

    Carol Fricks, RN, MS, CLCP
    Cell: (904) 439-0457
    Office: (904) 686-1721
    www.ciplcp.com 

    Original on Transparent - email 3.png
     
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  • 4.  RE: Discussion update

    Posted 02-28-2023 15:12

    I have been following the numerous posts regarding decisions that have been made that significantly impact the profession of life care planning. Thank you to my colleagues for your insightful, thoughtful, and well articulated comments. I would like to specifically thank Nick Choppa and the Board of IALCP for your pro-active leadership by formulating a survey to reach out to all IARP members and the community of life care planners to ensure that you received as much input as possible prior to meeting with the IARP board. I appreciate the tireless efforts of our current board for taking the actions needed to ensure that they had an accurate understanding of the concerns of the majority of life care planners, as well their visions for the future educational opportunities, networking, and the profession as a whole.

    It has been interesting to review the various posts and I am still trying to digest the various perspectives. As a prior board member, I have an understanding of the dynamic and decision making process. As I am no longer a board member, I do not feel that it would be appropriate for me to provide any opinion as to how decisions are being made now that impact the profession. I trust our current leadership and our liaison to the IARP board to accurately communicate the needs of the IALCP community.
    Like Sherry, Dana, Heidi, Tracy, Susan, Cloie and so many others who have posted, I have over twenty years invested in this profession that I am passionate about. I specifically chose to pursue training, education and certification to become a Certified Life Care Planner, rather than pursing nurse life care planning. I chose this direction because I wanted the opportunity to create relationships and collaborate with rehabilitation professionals from diverse backgrounds. This decision has been validated over and over again as I have had the honor of meeting and developing friendships with vocational rehabilitation counselors, physicians, occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, language speech pathologists…..well the list goes on and on. So like so many of the rest of you, I want to do what needs to be done to preserve this valuable organization. Also, as I move towards the twilight of my career, I am trying to ensure that this profession maintains its existence and integrity for the wonderful young women who are now working for me and who have been following ALL of the posts in the past few weeks. It is hard to keep them from being disenchanted with all the politics that are currently plaguing our field. They are very concerned by the "new" process for acquiring CE's and the appearance that we can submit a request for CE's from ICHCC after the Summit and Symposium in addition to having to pay a fee. Once you do that on an individual basis and pay an additional fee above and beyond what was spent to attend these conferences, you can get CE's. Is that even ethical?
    Finally, I have to admit that reading John's post from February 26th, I felt relieved that someone had the guts to articulate what, I think, is reflective of the opinion of a lot of us. We have many esteemed, lifetime achievement award winners, who are not certified, for the very reasons that John articulated. I personally will not be renewing my CLCP certification and will do as Rebecca suggests and pursue Fellow distinction.

    I hope the meetings between the IALCP board and IARP board have been productive, meaningful and will provide a consensus and mutually beneficial path moving forward. Also, as a presenter of both in person and virtual education, I see the value of both platforms. I do think virtual webinars are highly effective, as evidenced by Dr. Bagnell's recent excellent webinar on pediatric life care planning. However, I don't think we can dismiss the value of in person conferences/symposiums/summits, or whatever you want to call it. The virtual conferences can't replace the opportunity to give each other a hug, and well, meet at the bar or go on a run/walk and just talk.
    Also, just a side FYI, when I won the $660 cash from the raffle at the Portland Symposium, I did send a check to the Brain Injury Network for the full amount.

    Carol Fricks, RN, MS, CLCP
    Cell: (904) 439-0457
    Office: (904) 686-1721
    www.ciplcp.com 
    Original on Transparent - email 3.png 


    ------------------------------
    Carol Fricks
    CEO
    carol@ciplcp.com
    Ponte Vedra Beach, FL United States
    ------------------------------

    Original Message