Steve Marquis Begins Term As Treasurer; Two New Board Members Elected
McLean, Virginia – January 17, 2017 – The Board of Registered Polysomnographic Technologists (BRPT) named Jessica Schmidt, MA, RPSGT, President-Elect of the Board of Directors. Her two-year term as President will begin in January 2018. Schmidt has been a member of the BRPT Board since 2014 serving as Treasurer and chair of the Legislative Committee. Schmidt is currently a Senior Administrator at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC, where she oversees pulmonary, critical care, sleep medicine, and cardiac procedures.
“Jessica has been an extremely effective member of the sleep community for more than a decade,” said BRPT President Daniel Lane, BS, RPSGT, CCSH. “She was director of the first CAAHEP-accredited Polysomnography program in the Mid-Atlantic, she continues to serve on the advisory board of two CoA-PSG programs, and is a founding member and Past-President of the Maryland Sleep Society.”
“I’m thrilled to serve as BRPT’s next President, following a long line of passionate and committed sleep professionals who’ve worked hard to elevate our profession,” said Jessica Schmidt, MA, RPSGT. “I’m particularly proud of my work around the CCSH credential – writing the CCSH Reimbursement Guide and co-editing the CCSH Study Guide were extremely rewarding. As all of our roles in the community evolve, I look forward to continuing to work hard and advocate on behalf of the sleep profession and the patients we serve.”
Current Board member, Deborah Kovacs-Sturdevant, RPSGT, RRT, received the BRPT President’s Shining Star Award in November for her dedication and outstanding service to the organization. Said BRPT President Daniel Lane, BS, RPSGT, CCSH, “Deb’s many contributions to the Board range from chairing our Professional Review Committee to staying on top of – and advising sleep techs on – thorny issues related to social media.”
The change in Board leadership takes effect this month, but an official installation will take place at a BRPT Board meeting in Dallas, TX on February 25, 2017.
New Board Members
Amber Allen, BA, RPSGT, RST
Director
Amber Allen has been in the sleep field for eight years and currently serves as the Program Coordinator to the CAAHEP-accredited Polysomnographic Technology Program at Collin College in McKinney, TX. Amber was instrumental in the development of the program and building it from the ground up. Prior to joining Collin College, she worked as an RPSGT for the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH. Amber has spoken at numerous sleep and respiratory care conferences at both the national and state level, including the BRPT Symposium, and has previously volunteered for the BRPT Education Task Force Committee. She is passionate about educating students and the public about the importance of sleep. Prior to her career in sleep, Amber was a child prodigy who started college at 14. After earning her Bachelor of Arts degree at 19, she began her post-collegiate career in the music industry in Nashville, where she worked for eight years, including appearances on American Idol and as an extra in film and TV projects with some of the biggest names in music.
Rachel Mouton, RPSGT, CCSH, LPN
Director
Rachel Mouton has been working in the sleep field for more than 15 years. She entered the field of sleep medicine through nursing and is currently the clinical director of Sleep Solutions of New Iberia in Louisiana, a 6-bed sleep center. For the past eight years, Rachel has worked with the BRPT’s Exam Development Committee on exam development as well as assisting with the Job Task Analysis and standard setting. Rachel is a strong promoter of continuing education within the sleep community and has an active community sleep education program through which she leads the training of sleep technologists and works with physicians entering the field. Rachel also serves on the board of directors of the Louisiana Academy of Sleep Medicine. In addition, she has published articles in A2Zzz magazine.
Continuing Members of The Board
Board members Steve Marquis, RPSGT, CCSH, UF Health, Jacksonville, FL serves as Treasurer and Donna Arand, PhD, of the Sleep Disorders Center at Kettering Hospital in Dayton, OH serves as Secretary. Other continuing Board members of the BRPT include: Bernie Chalmers, MA, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Helen Driver, PhD, RPSGT, CCSH, DABSM, Somnologist, Sleep Disorders Lab, Kingston General Hospital and Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada; Vikas, Jain, MD, CCSH, Oklahoma City, OK; Deb Kovacs-Sturdevant, RPSGT, RRT, Anthem, Inc., Cincinnati, OH; Wendy Krout, RPSGT, CareFusion, Wakefield, RI; Jomo M. Nkunika, BSAST, RPSGT, CCSH, Sleep Services of America, a Johns Hopkins Health System company, Glen Burnie, MD.
Biographies of all BRPT Board members can be found at www.brpt.org.
The BRPT Board of Directors is comprised of volunteer members, all of whom serve four-year terms. The Board is international in scope and blends the expertise of the sleep community representing the interests of the consumer, patients, educators, and sleep technologists.
The BRPT develops and administers credentialing exams for polysomnographic technologists and technicians. The RPSGT is respected worldwide as the leading credential for polysomnographic technologists. Since the first credentialing exam administration in 1979, BRPT has credentialed more than 20,000 RPSGTs worldwide. In May 2014, BRPT launched the Certification In Clinical Sleep Health (CCSH) examination for healthcare providers specializing in sleep medicine who work directly with sleep medicine patients, families and practitioners for patient care management, improved outcomes, and sleep health education and advocacy for patients and the community.
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, CPSGT, and CCSH exams in the United States and internationally, the BRPT also maintains the RPSGT registry and CPSGT roster. The BRPT also provides its Continuing Sleep Technology Education (CSTE) Program for educational providers seeking continuing education credits for their offerings. For more information, please visit www.brpt.org.