Advanced Medicine Made Personal
Contact Weiss Memorial Hospital Call-1800-503-1234
Joint Commission's Gold Seal of ApprovalWeiss Memorial Hospital has earned the Joint Commission's Gold Seal of Approval™

Respiratory

Respiratory Care at Weiss Memorial Hospital promotes cardiopulmonary wellness using a variety of therapeutic modalities to identify and treat acute or chronic dysfunctions of the cardiopulmonary system. Our licensed respiratory therapists are trained to assess, treat, manage, control, educate and care for patients with cardiopulmonary problems.

 

Respiratory Care functions 24 hours a day, seven days a week under medical direction to provide the best possible treatment and to meet a wide variety of patients’ health care needs. Services by our licensed respiratory therapists include, but are not limited to, the following.

  • Patient education: provide education and bedside instruction on all therapeutic modalities offered, including equipment demonstrations and educational materials describing medications and respiratory diseases such as asthma and Copd.
  • Oxygen therapy: administer and maintain oxygen delivery devices such as nasal cannulas and oxygen masks, monitor oxygen saturations and initiate the weaning process to determine if and when oxygen can be safely discontinued.
  • Nebulizer and aerosol therapy: administer bronchodilators using nebulizers or meter dose inhalers to provide airway maintenance, relieve airway obstruction and promote airway clearance.
  • Hyperinflation therapy: Post-operatively, all patients are instructed by the licensed respiratory therapist on incentive breathing exercises, such as deep breathing and breath-holding techniques that help to naturally inflate the lungs, increase cough effectiveness, prevent atelectasis (collapse of lungs due to incomplete expansion) and reduce the chances of pulmonary infection.
  • Bronchial hygiene therapy: perform chest percussion, positive expiratory pressure therapy and flutter therapy to improve cough effectiveness, reduce pulmonary infiltrates and mobilize thick retrained secretions.
  • Mechanical ventilation: initiate and maintain all forms of positive-pressure life-support systems, such as mechanical ventilators and Bipap and Cpap systems. All cardiac artery bypass patients are placed on mechanical ventilators post-operatively to support ventilation.

Visit the Pulmonary Function Laboratory page for more information on our pulmonary testing services.

Bookmark, Email, and Share