Hello. My name is Mary A. McFarland. I am asking for your support for Delegate Bonita Anthony House Bill 1452My sweet daughter Amy was in the hospital ICU for 29 days prior to her death. Home care attendants save the state a significant amount of money each year vs. institutions and nursing homes. Also, most people prefer to stay in their homes and communities, which is a much less restrictive environment. They are able to be with friends and family and participate in life and not just observe it from a nursing home or institution window. Therefore, I am respectfully requesting that you will please support Delegate Anthony and vote to pass HB 1452 . This will no longer help my beloved daughter, Amy McFarland, but I am hopeful that by advocating in her memory and sharing her story that it will help others with disabilities who cannot advocate for themselves. I would like to share with you a little of my daughter’s story, and the red tape that we had to go through to try and get my precious Amy a generator. My daughter had serious breathing issues and was on oxygen, medication, and was on a noninvasive ventilator. We live in a very rural area and are prone to power outages. Amy’s pulmonologist had written her a prescription for a generator to operate her medical equipment in the event of a power outage. Her case manager submitted everything that was requested by DMAS and DBHDS. We did everything that they wanted including having me sign a document stating that I would pay any amount over the $5000 waiver limit. It’s ridiculous the stipulations they have including it can only be big enough to run Amy’s concentrator, oxygen, and any meds needing refrigeration. What about heat in the winter! What about air conditioning in the summer! What about food that needs refrigeration! Needless to say, due to all of the red tape, Amy died waiting on a generator. This is so wrong, and I pray that no other vulnerable person ever has go through this. Critical lifesaving Home Mods/ Durable Medical Equipment need to be addressed in a much more timely and urgent manner. My precious daughter died while she was on approval for a generator because of all the red tape involved in getting it. Also, I would like to add that the $5000 allocation for Home Mods/Durable Medical Equipment has been the same since 1994. 32 years later it is still the same, and very much outdated as costs have increased significantly since 1994. In time, I feel that we can work to improve all these conditions. However, as I mentioned earlier, I am asking you to please support and vote in favor of Delegate Anthony’s bill . Prior to my daughter’s serious breathing issues, and despite her disability of being blind and having ataxic cerebral palsy and unable to walk, with her waiver and her attendants, Amy was advocated many years at the General Assembly In fact, because of her advocacy and mine, we were invited to the White House in 2010 by then President Barack Obama. In 2012, because of her numerous accomplishments and community involvement, Amy also competed in local, state, and national pageants and won numerous titles and awards. After my precious Amy passed, Amy’s Memorial Resolution, ((House Resolution No.90) was read on the House Floor. This truly touched my heart and was an affirmation of her contributions and a life well lived. Thank You Delegate Anthony for presenting this bill Respectfully, In Honor of Amy McFarland

As a radiological Technologist, I do not believe it is in the best interests of the public to have a person or persons take an xray of a patient outside the range of a hospital setting, IF they are not licensed. Radiology is more than just hitting a button! It is anatomy, physics and so much more. I am a licensed Rad Tech and work in an urgent care setting. As a patient, I would not feel comfortable having someone take my xray if they are unlicensed.

Passing this bill would be detrimental to the patients safety. We are trained and skilled to have knowledge about radiation safety. Without those skills, patient safety is compromised thus allowing just anyone to dose patients without the proper radiation safety, knowledge, and skill that is used to obtain a diagnostic image. Allowing individuals without this training to perform imaging puts patients at risk by increasing the chance of improper radiation exposure

As a Registered Radiologic Technologist who recently graduated, it is very disheartening to hear this is trying to pass. In no way is anyone without a degree, no matter what department or profession, in good standing to take jobs from those with a degree. It is negligent and unsafe to allow these employees to operate xray tubes, the length of some of their programs are the length of my radiation safety course, therefore resulting in a significant depletion of knowledge to safely expose patients for diagnostic imaging quality. Not only is it unsafe for the patients but for the employee themselves. I strongly urge you to reconsider this bill in consideration for patients all over to receive the care they deserve. I also urge you to try and compare this to someone with the degree you have trying to do your job as good as you know how to without even half the education you have. Thank you for your time.

As a student getting ready to graduate a radiology program to become a X Ray tech in virginia, I am very saddened to hear this is even a bill trying to be passed. In no shape or form can/should any nurse have the capability of being able to assist a physician or radiologist or PA in taking x ray’s whether that is in the operating room, fluoroscopy, or diagnostic imaging. We spend 18 months straight learning the ends and outs of patient and workers protection when it comes to radiation that no nurse could be taught in a couple of trainings. No patient will be safe if this bill passes.