Susan Hanson Named Secretary; Cindy Altman, Eddie Perez Join the Board
McLean, Virginia – January 19, 2010 –The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) named Janice East, RPSGT, R. EEG T., President of the Board of Directors. Her two-year term begins this month. East has been a member of the BRPT Board since 2006. In 2008, East was presented with the Shining Star Award by then President Becky Appenzeller, RPSGT, R. EEG T., CNIM, for her dedication and ongoing commitment to the organization. East is the Director of Sleep Disorders, Neurodiagnostics and Rehabilitation Services for Morton Plant Mease Health Care in Clearwater, FL.
“I’m honored to be elected President of the BRPT Board,” said Janice East. “Under Becky’s leadership, we’ve accomplished an extraordinary amount in a number of key areas including the creation of the CPSGT exam and the development of a new RPSGT exam blueprint. I look forward to maintaining this momentum and continuing the work we’ve begun to recertify sleep technologists beginning in 2011, to expand opportunities for international RPSGT candidates, and to move ahead with the development of an advanced credential.”
Becky Appenzeller will serve as BRPT Past President. A 40-year veteran of the neurodiagnostics and sleep field, Appenzeller is currently Supervisor for the Sleep Disorders Center and Neurodiagnostic Department at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center in LaCrosse, WI.
“I’m very proud of what the BRPT has accomplished during my tenure as President,” said Becky Appenzeller. “The launch of the CPSGT exam is an important contribution to the profession. And, in the next few months, we’ll be providing on-demand testing for both the CPSGT and RPSGT exams offering greater flexibility with real time results. As Chair of the Exam Development committee, I look forward to continuing this work and further collaborating with our colleagues in the broader sleep community who’ve been instrumental in our efforts to date.”
BRPT Board member Susan Hanson, RPSGT, CRT, Coordinator of the Sleep Clinic at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, IA will serve as Secretary. Hanson has been a BRPT Board member since 2009 and serves on the Exam Development committee.
“I would like to thank the Board for electing me to the post of Secretary,” said Susan Hanson. “As a new member of the Executive Committee, I will strive to maintain the high standards set by the BRPT leadership. I’m committed to working diligently to maintain the CPSGT certificate and RPSGT credential as the worldwide leading credentials for Polysomnographic Technologists.”
The change in Board leadership became effective in January 2010, but an official installation will take place at a BRPT Board meeting in Santa Fe, NM on March 11, 2010. East and Hanson are joined by two new Board members, Cindra Altman, RPSGT, R. EEG/EP T., Technical Director, Creighton University Sleep Disorders Center in Omaha, NE and Edward Perez, RPSGT, a sleep technologist with OmniTrials/Sleep Disorders Center of Southwest Florida in Naples, FL.
“I’m thrilled to join such a dynamic team,” said Cindy Altman. “I look forward to using my skills and experience to serve the profession and public by promoting the importance and recognition of the BRPT credentials. In addition, I’m excited to participate in the ongoing review and improvement of the exam process and look forward to having input into this important function.”
“I’m excited to join the experienced and talented team that makes up the BRPT Board,” said Eddie Perez. “As a practicing sleep technologist, I’m eager to take an active role in the exam development process and to apply what I do every day to benefit the sleep profession.”
BRPT Board member Mike Brennen, RPSGT, Southeast Idaho Sleep Disorders Center at the Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, Idaho will continue to serve as Treasurer. Other continuing Board members of the BRPT include: Donna Arand, PhD, Sleep Disorders Center at Kettering Hospital, Dayton, OH; Charles Atwood, MD, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Charmaine Brown, BS, MBA, RPSGT, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; Roger Godbout, RPSGT, PhD, Université ode Montreal, Sleep Laboratory and Clinic Hôpital Rivière-des-Prairies, Montréal (Québec); Dave Hargett (public member) Bolingbrook, IL; and, Daniel Mobley, RPSGT, The Children’s Hospital at OU Medical Center, Oklahoma City, OK.
The BRPT is currently comprised of a 12-member board, all of whom serve four-year terms. Of the 12 members, 11 are credentialed by either the BRPT, or the American Board of Sleep Medicine. In addition, the Board appoints at least one public member.
The BRPT develops and administers the Registered Polysomnographic Technologist (RPSGT™) credential and the Certified Polysomnographic Technician (CPSGT) certificate. The RPSGT is respected worldwide as the leading credential for polysomnographic technologists with more than 15,000 RPSGTs credentialed worldwide.
Headquartered in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, the BRPT is an independent, non-profit certification board that cultivates the highest professional and ethical standards for polysomnographic technologists. In addition to administering the RPSGT exam in the United States and internationally, the BRPT also maintains the RPSGT registry. For more information, call (703) 610-9020, or visit www.brpt.org.
Janice East, RPSGT, R. EEG T.
Current Board member and now President.
Janice East is the Director of Sleep Disorders, Neurodiagnostics and Rehabilitation Services for Morton Plant Mease Health Care. She has worked in the fields of Neurodiagnostics and Sleep Disorders for over 30 years and has been employed at the same facility for more than 24 years. She opened a sleep disorders center in 1987 and that expanded to five this year. Along with being credentialed in polysomnographic technology, East also holds a registry in neurodiagnostics (R. EEG T.). East has served as Chairman of BRPT’s Application Review Committee and served on the Professional Discipline Committee until 2009. She currently participates on the Exam Development Committee. In 2008, East was awarded BRPT’s Shining Star Award for her outstanding contribution to the organization. Prior to her work with BRPT, she held officer positions in state, regional and national neurodiagnostics organizations and volunteered on multiple committees and conference planning programs. She is currently an Associate Examiner for ABRET; Morton Plant Hospital serves as a regional testing facility for ABRET.
Becky Appenzeller, RPSGT, R. EEG T., CNIM
Current Board member and now Past President.
Becky Appenzeller is currently Supervisor for the Sleep Disorders Center and Neurodiagnostic Department at Franciscan Skemp Medical Center in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. She has been in the neurodiagnostic and sleep field for over 40 years, with most of the years spent in management positions. She is the ASET delegate on the Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT), and has served on many committees during her terms on the board, including chair of the Professional Discipline Committee. Prior to her BRPT affiliation, she was a board member and secretary on the American Board of Registration of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists (ABRET), and as Executive Secretary for JRC/END (now CoA END), working with CAAHEP and the Department of Education for accreditation of END programs.
Susan K. Hanson, RPSGT, CRT
Current Board member and now Secretary.
Susan Hanson has been a polysomnographic technologist for more than 20 years. She currently serves as the coordinator of the Sleep Clinic at Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, IA. She earned a B.A. in education from Central College in Pella, IA. Hanson earned her respiratory credential at California College of Respiratory Therapy and completed her sleep training at Stanford University. She is a member of the American Association of Sleep Technologists, the Association for the Study of Dreams, and the Quad City Health Initiative. She is a member and frequent presenter at the Central Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists and the Iowa Association of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists.
Cindra L. Altman, RPSGT, R. EEG/EP T.
New Board member.
Cindy Altman is the Technical Director at Creighton University Sleep Disorders Center in Omaha, NE. She has more than 30 years experience in neurodiagnostic and sleep technology, and throughout her career has held both clinical and administrative positions at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, NE. Altman has served on the boards of the American Society of Electroneurodiagnostic Technologists (ASET), the American Board of Registration of Electroencephalographic and Evoked Potential Technologists (ABRET), and the Joint Review Committee for Education in Electroneurodiagnostic Technology (JRC-END). She is a member of the BRPT’s Exam Development Committee, and is an Associate Examiner for ABRET and a Site Visitor for JRC-END.
Edward Perez, RPSGT
New Board member.
Eddie Perez is currently a sleep technologist with OmniTrials/Sleep Disorders Center of Southwest Florida in Naples. Perez has been in the sleep field for a decade. Prior to joining OmniTrials, he was a sleep technician/practice representative with Sleep Health Center in Ft. Myers, FL and a sleep technician with the Sleep Wake Disorder Center in Miami. He has extensive research experience as a certified scorer and holds membership in AASM and AAST. Perez has been an active member of the BRPT Exam Development Committee. His post-secondary education is in biomedical and mechanical engineering.