Gracious! Can I sign up. I'll learn to do Cytology!!
Joyce Weems
Pathology Manager
Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta


	-----Original Message-----
	From:	Bruce Gapinski [SMTP:BGapinski@pathgroup.com]
	Sent:	Thursday, October 25, 2001 10:58 AM
	To:	Weems, Joyce
	Cc:	'HistoNet@Pathology.swmed.edu'
	Subject:	RE: Personnel Shortage

	Does this mean another raise for Cytology? Our Cytology department
got a 30%
	raise last year! We got 2%. I'm sick of it! <-- sorry, venting.
	Respectfully,
	Bruce Gapinski HT(ASCP)
			-----Original Message-----
			From:	Weems, Joyce [mailto:JWEEMS@sjha.org]
			Sent:	Thursday, October 25, 2001 6:40 AM
			To:	'Histonet'
			Subject:	FW: Personnel Shortage

			This is an email I received from my Director
regarding the
	Congressional
			Bill. Perhaps it will help clarify the email sent by
Glenda
	Hoye
			. 
			The bill does specifically mention Histology and
Cytology. 
			Send your response to  ElissaP@ascls.org
	
			or call or fax as below.

			We all need to speak out! Next year is a BIG
election year.
	Use that to our
			advantage. We need to speak directly to our Senators
and
	Representatives
			also - emails, voice mails, etc. 

			I belong to the Advocacy Committee - I will forward
things
	along as I see
			relevance. (Excuse us, Dear Friends outside the
USA!)

			God bless us everyone! 

			Joyce Weems
			Pathology Manager
			Saint Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta

			Subject:	Personnel Shortage

			Hi Everyone,

			As this Congress winds down its work, there is some
concern
	that H.R. 1948
			will not be enacted.  In addition, since there never
was a
	Senate bill, it
			is unlikely that any of it would be implemented.  In
	meetings that we
			(ASCLS) have been having with the College of
American
	Pathologists, we have
			discussed what it would really take to fix the
shortage.
	The College's
			contacts on the Hill have indicated that they
believe that
	there is a
			shortage but that loan forgiveness programs aren't
really
	going to fix the
			problem.  David Fowler reported that Secretary
Thompson
	(HHS), as part of a
			video conference on anthrax, stated four different
times
	about the
			difficulty the labs were having with keeping up with
the
	amount of work and
			stated that this was a concern that was brought to
his
	attention and needs
			to be addressed. He also stated that he needs some
direction
	about the best
			way to help the labs.   As David said, this is the
time for
	us to tell folks
			what is needed for the short and long term to make
sure that
	the public gets
			the level of testing and quality that they deserve.
CAP
	agrees and is
			trying to get a meeting with the Secretary for the
two
	organizations (and
			other organizations that might want to attend).  CAP
is
	asking us to come up
			with some really effective strategies to fix this
shortage
	so that CAP can
			endorse them and we can all be sending the same
message.
	Therefore, we need
			to do some brainstorming.   We know that salary and
	recognition are two
			crucial contributors to the shortage.  But are there
other
	things?  And what
			is the answer?

			So, please talk among yourselves, share this email
with as
	many folks as you
			would like but get back to David and/or I with:

			a. what is contributing to the shortage (with some
	prioritization of the
			list)
			b. what will really fix it?  (including money - but
money
	where - to just
			the hospitals, to education programs, to ? where)

			Please get back to us as soon as possible but no
later than
	Oct 31. Thanks!


			Elissa Passiment
			ASCLS Executive Vice President
			301.657.2768, X3015
			301.657.2909 (fax)
			7910 Woodmont Ave, #530
			Bethesda, MD 20814-3015