Intervention Evaluation Committee urges members to route media requests, approves 2026 meeting schedule and moves to closed session

At a virtual meeting of the Intervention Evaluation Committee (IEC) of the Respiratory Care Board of California, staff advised IEC members to notify board staff and legal counsel about media contacts and to consider services that remove personal contact information from public websites; the committee then approved a proposed 2026 IEC meeting schedule by roll call and recessed into closed session to discuss intervention program applicants.

Board staff told members that appointment to an IEC makes their names publicly discoverable and recommended steps to reduce exposure after a committee member reported unsolicited media contact. “Your names are public knowledge that you reside on an IEC because you are board appointed,” staff said. Staff also said they had met with the Department of Investigations and the attorney general’s office and relayed recommendations including using paid services to scrub personal information and restricting social-media visibility. “We do work closely with the California Highway Patrol, and they are able to provide assistance if there are ever any credible threats that that do come through,” staff added.

Dr. Randy Holmes told the committee that a reporter from a San Diego news outlet had contacted him for an interview about a separate nursing board article and that he had asked the nursing board whether he should participate. Holmes described being uncertain how the reporter obtained his contact information and said he receives unsolicited contacts; the committee discussion framed those contacts as an occupational risk of public service and focused on protective measures.

Staff reiterated the board’s preferred media protocol: board members and IEC members should notify the board’s information officer, legal counsel and staff when media requests relate to board business, and allow the board to coordinate the official response. Staff emphasized that notifying the board is a request, not a strict requirement. “We do ask you to make us aware. We do ask you to allow us to handle that, but it’s not a necessary requirement,” staff said.

On agenda business, the committee reviewed the IEC guide and intervention program regulations, which staff said are set out in the California Code of Regulations, Title 16, “sections 14 46 to 14 49” and cover admission criteria, review procedures, and causes for denial or termination from the program. No substantive regulatory changes were adopted during the open session; staff asked IEC members to continue reviewing the guide and provide feedback to staff.

Committee member Natalie (Natalie Rainfield) moved to approve the proposed 2026 IEC meeting schedule; a second was recorded and the committee took a roll call vote. When asked for a roll-call response, Vice Chair Elaine Ocampo and Dr. Randy Holmes each answered “Yes,” as did other members present; the moderator stated, “Motion passes.” The committee then recessed into closed session “pursuant to Business and Professions Code section 2770.1 and Government Code section 11126 subdivision (c)(2) to discuss and vote on matters related to intervention program applicants and participants.” The meeting minutes record the recess to closed session at 09:16 a.m. and a return to open session at 2:30 p.m.

The discussion and staff guidance place emphasis on member safety and the board’s role coordinating official communications. The committee asked members to continue reviewing the IEC guide and to notify staff of any media contacts related to board business. The meeting record does not specify future public dates for follow-up beyond the approved 2026 schedule, which the committee approved during the session.