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by Sharon Nichols and Debbie Robinson, NETRA
Yes, you heard right! Starting July 1, 2007, Recreational Therapists will be eligible for licensure in New Hampshire. What an accomplishment! Only Utah and North Carolina have licensure for
RT, so we join an elite group.
On May 11, 2006 the NH Sentate completed a lengthy process of approval for Senate Bill 305, an act relative to the licensure of recreational therapists. The last step, which we anticipate to go smoothly, is to have NH Governor John Lynch sign the act into law this summer.
Special thanks are owed to our legislative sponsors, Senator Estabrook and Representative Powers. In addition we received significant assistance from Ed
DuPont, a longtime Northeast Passage supporter who also has important political influence in the NH Legislature.
The team of CTRS’ that shepherded this bill through the process was coordinated by Jill Gravink of Northeast Passage and included Sharon Nichols of Genesis Health Care, Debbie Robinson of NH Hospital, Geoff Garfinkle of Crotched Mountain Center, Pam Ayotte of Northeast Rehabilitation Healthcare Network and Lou Powell and Janet Sable of the University of New Hampshire.
It is important to note that all major employers of CTRS’ in NH were part of the process, and a tremendous effort was made to convince legislators that licensure of recreational therapists in New Hampshire was the right thing to do to protect consumers from harm that could arise from unqualified people acting or presenting themselves as Recreational Therapists or Therapeutic Recreation Specialists.
What does this mean for you if you are a CTRS who practices in NH? It means you will need to apply for licensure through the New Hampshire Office of Licensed Allied Health Professionals. That process will begin in July 2007. Any person currently a CTRS in good standing will be eligible for licensure. You will fill out an application, pay a fee, and be taking an amazing step forward for RT practice. Maintaining licensure will require obtaining a certain amount of CEUs within a specified time period, acting ethically, paying biannual fees and maintaining your CTRS credential.
People who wish to practice RT in NH will need to be licensed. The days of someone claiming to be an RT who is not will be over. The bill protects our language (Recreational Therapist, Therapeutic Recreation Specialist,
CTRS) and reserves it for those with the appropriate credentials. This is good news for us, and even better news for consumers of our services.
Having licensed recreational therapists in NH may also have tremendous implications for reimbursement opportunities through Medicare and Medicaid. We need to continue to work with local managed care organizations, and other insurance payers. In addition, having licensure in NH adds more clout to ATRA’s work with CMS on the RT Medicare Project. So in essence, this is “one small step for NH and one giant leap for the recreational therapy profession”.
Reprinted with permission from the Therapeutic Recreation Directory Newsletter, 5/18/06. |
