We did it!

Because of your generosity, the ASE Foundation not only reached its Giving Tuesday goal of $3,000, but exceeded it and ended the day with a total of $5,201 in donations. Did you miss Giving Tuesday? Don’t worry, there’s still time to make a U.S. tax deductible charitable contribution to the Foundation’s 2014 Annual Appeal. Click here to donate to an initiative of your choice.

ASE Foundation’s Largest Research Grant Awarded to Innovative Fusion Imaging Project

Read release here.

Spanish-Language Webinars Now Available

The ASE Education and Research Foundation (ASE Foundation) is excited to announce the addition of two, Spanish-language webinars to our collection of translated guideline materials. Both webinars are available at no cost as a way to increase the dissemination of echo education globally. Federico Asch, MD, FASE, recorded ASE’s first webinar in Spanish. Dr. Asch presents “Guidelines for Performing a Comprehensive Transesophageal Echocardiographic Examination” by Hahn, et al. Watch here. Roberto Lang, MD, FASE has also recorded a Webinar on “Three-Dimensional Echocardiography: Recommendations for Image Acquisition and Display,” based on the EAE/ASE Guideline, which can be found here.

We are excited about this opportunity to make ASE guidelines available to colleagues all over the world. Visit our Guidelines translations pageto access the full text to many of ASE’s guideline documents in Mandarin, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Now accepting nominations for scholarship awards and travel grants that support the next generation of cardiovascular ultrasound professionals

The American Society of Echocardiography Education and Research Foundation (ASEF) is pleased to announce the availability of scholarship awards and travel support grants for students enrolled in CAAHEP accredited cardiovascular ultrasound programs.

The Alan D. Waggoner Student Scholarship Award

The Alan D. Waggoner Student Scholarship Award program is named after Alan Waggoner, MHS, RDCS and honors his passion for echocardiography and service to ASE. The Foundation funds a limited number of awards per year for students who possess these same qualities.

The $1,000 awards are aimed to assist students with their educational expenses. Also included with the award is a travel stipend of up to $500 for the award recipient to attend the 2015 ASE Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA, June 12-16. To apply, students must be nominated by their program director. The nomination deadline for this scholarship award is Saturday, November 1, 2014.

UltraEcho, Ltd. & Feigenbaum Cardiovascular Sonographer Student Travel Grants

The Foundation’s travel grant program will provide two $1,000 scholarships to support a sonography student’s attendance at the 2015 ASE Scientific Sessions in Boston, MA, June 12-16.

While any sonography student actively enrolled in a CAAHEP cardiovascular program may apply for these travel grants, the selection process will give preference to students without sufficient travel funding who would not otherwise be able to join ASE in Boston. The application deadline is Sunday, November 30, 2014.

Students nominated for an Alan D. Waggoner Student Scholarship Award may also apply for a travel grant; however, they will only be considered for one award. To view the eligibility criteria for the Foundation’s 2015 scholarships and awards, please click here.

Questions? Please contact Scholarships at the ASE Foundation at 919-297-7188 or by email at scholarship@asecho.org. 

ASEF volunteer efforts make an impact

The ASE Foundation supported two recent humanitarian missions that showcase the true impact our volunteers make on patient care worldwide. The ASEF VALUES Program, held August 11-14, was a teaching and research event that took 18 volunteers to Bangalore, India to image and assess patients with rheumatic heart disease while also teaching local professionals to improve their techniques and skills.

The Foundation’s first U.S.-based humanitarian mission and educational outreach was held September 11-14 at the Care Harbor/LA healthcare clinic in Los Angeles, California. Seventeen volunteers provided free quality diagnostic cardiac care to uninsured and underinsured patients in LA County and connected patients to local medical providers for follow-up care as needed.

Together these two events impacted hundreds of patients in need and underscores the Foundation’s mission to expand quality diagnostic cardiac care to the underserved, wherever they are in the world. Thank you to our volunteers and the partners who supported both of these efforts – you truly make a world of difference.

Calling all ASE members in the Northeast US!

If you will be within a short drive or train ride from Washington, D.C. on September 12, perhaps attending TCT or the ACC’s legislative conference, you won’t want to miss the opportunity to join leaders from ASE and across the healthcare spectrum in our nation’s capital for Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014. ASE’s Advocacy Committee Chair, Dr. David Wiener, recently wrote a great blog post about the Summit and the reasons why it is so important for ASE members to participate and help shape the discussion about how cardiac imaging, and specifically echo, will provide superior value in the new world of ACO’s, bundled payments, etc. Free registration for ASE Members, interactive sessions, and networking will make it worthwhile, even if just for a drop-in. Get all the details and find out how to register for this ASE Foundation event at www.asecho.org/summit2014.

Taste of Portland event raises over $10,000 in scholarship and grant funding support

Organized by the Willamette Valley Society of Echocardiography (WVSE), and co-hosted by the ASE Foundation, the Taste of Portland boasted a large attendance, with 603 ASE 2014 Scientific Sessions attendees making their way to the Leftbank Annex in Portland for some entertainment on June 22! Thank you to the Taste of Portland’s leadership, Todd Belcik, BS, RDCS, RCS, FASE and Dan Oliver, RCS, FASE, who put a lot of personal time and effort into making the event a success. The event raised more than $10,000 in scholarship and grant funding support.

TasteOfPortland_pic1   TasteOfPortland_pic2TasteOfPortland_pic3

Join the ASE Foundation August 11-14 for live broadcasts from India

Next week is the ASEF’s third humanitarian mission in India – and you’re invited! Join our onsite team, led by Dr. Partho Sengupta and David Adams, for three learning sessions broadcast live from Bangalore. While in India, the team will be evaluating patients with known rheumatic heart disease, and during the live broadcasts they’ll present highlights from the cases they saw each day. Expert physicians located in the United States, including Drs. Thomas Ryan, Jagat Narula, Roberto Lang, Patricia Pellikka, and James Thomas, will provide commentary and engage in discussion with participants. Visit the ASEF Values page for more information.

LEADERS GATHER IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL TO DISCUSS IMAGING IN A VALUE-BASED PARADIGM

The American Society of Echocardiography Education and Research Foundation (ASEF) announced today that it will host Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014, on Friday, September 12, 2014, in Washington, D.C. at the JW Marriott hotel. This forum will feature speakers and panelists from across the healthcare spectrum, each offering their unique perspective on the transition to value-based healthcare, with a focus on the role of cardiovascular ultrasound in the changing environment. Read release here.

You’re invited to the Value-Based Healthcare: Summit 2014

Don’t miss your chance to help shape the discussion!

JW Marriott Hotel
Washington, DC

Summit 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hosted Reception 4:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Leaders from across the healthcare spectrum will be gathering in our nation’s capital to offer a variety of unique perspectives on the transition to value-based healthcare, with a focus on the role of cardiovascular ultrasound, specifically echocardiography, in this changing environment.  Speakers will include a US Congressman; a director of population health at one of the nation’s premier health systems; the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the first peer-reviewed journal focused exclusively on delivery science and care redesign; and many others.  The full agenda and speaker information can be accessed here, and will be continuously updated as more information becomes available.  Summit participants will include legislators and staffers, private and governmental payers, clinicians, patient advocates, researchers, and industry representatives.