Respiratory Therapists provide education and care to assist people and manage a wide range of breathing problems caused by disease, accident or illness. In the United States there are over 130,000 respiratory therapists who can be found in a variety of health care settings such as:
- Hospitals – Providing acute care to patients having difficulty breathing
- Intensive Care Units – Managing critical care treatments and technologies (like ventilators)
- Emergency rooms – Delivering lifesaving interventions
- Newborn & Pediatric units Treating infants and children
- Patient homes – Providing clinical follow-up and education while maintaining home respiratory equipment
- Sleep laboratories – Helping to diagnose and treat a variety of sleep disorders
- Skilled Nursing facilities & Pulmonary rehab
- Doctors’ offices – conducting assessments, treatments, PFTs and providing patient education
- Asthma & COPD education programs
- Smoking cessation programs – Assisting those who want to quit tobacco products
- Medical transport programs – Assisting in air and ground transport
Whenever and wherever breathing is a concern, respiratory therapists are there to provide high quality education and care.
From the American Association for Respiratory Care 2013, www.aarc.org