Advocacy

Melinda Bender, MSAH, RDMS, RVT 

 I am the lead technologist of the vascular lab for University Hospitals of Cleveland at Ahuja Medical Center. I am registered through ARDMS in abdomen, OB/gyn, and vascular, though I have worked clinically in vascular laboratories for the past 20 years. The most rewarding part of my job is helping others achieve more for themselves. I have been a proud member of the Society for Vascular Ultrasound (SVU) since 2007 and am currently technical director on the SVU board of directors. I am honored to work alongside the pioneers of ultrasound like Anne Jones to learn about our ever-evolving field and the intricacies of advocacy.

Why I joined advocacy: 

Advocacy is defined as publicly supporting a cause and publicly recommending policies. I am excited to be on the advocacy committee, because I feel it makes a real difference to our patients, profession, and departments. Increasing awareness about work-related musculoskeletal disorders can extend careers for us all and improve our quality of life by greatly reducing associated injury pain. Ensuring that policies are created to protect workers will mean less expenditure by our employers, reducing operational costs. Speaking out against reimbursement cuts and rejections across the country will lead to greater revenue generated at our facilities. This can create capital to employ more sonographers to reduce workload, upgrade equipment, and invest in education of staff to better serve the community. I strongly believe this will lead to better outcomes for our patient population.