Honoring those who serve

Flag Folding Ceremony.

A special Flag Folding Ceremony took place this morning to honor those among us who are serving our country today or who have served in the past.

The moving ceremony paid witness to the sacrifices our military members have made for all of us as they have protected our freedoms and way of life both here at home and in conflicts around the globe.

Thomas Wallsmith, the only RT known to have been killed in the line of duty, was among those called out for special recognition.

Read more about Wallsmith in this article in the May issue of AARC Times.

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Phil Kittredge Memorial Lecture

Evaluating the Value of the Respiratory Therapist: Where is the Evidence?

Marin Kolleff.

Respiratory therapists like to think of themselves as critical thinkers who can serve as physician extenders and work under therapist driven protocols. But are we?

Marin Kolleff, MD, will delve into those topics during his Kittredge Lecture tomorrow morning, citing recent scientific studies to prove his points.

“Respiratory therapists are in a unique position to influence health care delivery in a number of settings to include acutely ill hospitalized patients and those with chronic conditions in ambulatory settings,” says the physician. “Clinical studies have demonstrated the value of RTs in specific areas to include the performance of medical procedures, the development and implementation of protocols aimed at weaning patients from mechanical ventilation and providing lung protective ventilation, optimal delivery of inpatient respiratory treatments, the application of disease management programs for COPD, and as part of rapid response teams.”

Dr. Kolleff will argue that respiratory therapists must “continue to describe the impact they have on patient outcomes and the value they bring to our health care system” and suggest that “promoting such investigative outcomes research, along with enhancing the professional aspects of the field of respiratory care, will ensure that the value of RTs does not go unappreciated.”

Dr. Kolleff is a professor of medicine at Washington University in St. Louis and director of both the medical ICU and respiratory care services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. His areas of specialization include pulmonary disease and critical care medicine and he has published more than 400 papers, case reports, and other writings in peer review journals.

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Editors’ Choice highlights top abstracts

A presentation at the Editor’s Choice session.

Congress-goers heard from the presenters of the top abstracts submitted to this year’s Open Forum during this morning’s Editors’ Choice session.

Here are the abstracts and authors included in this year’s prestigious event —

• A Comparative Analysis of Ideal Body Weight Methods for Pediatric Mechanical Ventilation. Jeffrey R. Bilharz, BS, RRT, Boston, MA
• Evaluation of a Ventilator Bootcamp Improves the Knowledge and Skills Associated with Mechanical Ventilator Use During Inter-facility Transport of Intubated Pediatric Patients. Teresa A. Volsko, MBA, MHHS, RRT, CMT-E, FAARC, Akron, OH
• Comparison of the RAM Cannula to Conventional Bi-nasal Prongs in the Delivery of Noninvasive Respiratory Support to Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) and Extremely Low Birth Weight (ELBW) Infants in the NICU. Cathy W. Hughes, RRT, Washington, DC
• Accuracy of Transcutaneous CO2 Values Compared to Arterial and Capillary Blood Gases. Randy Willis, MBA, RRT-NPS, Little Rock, AR
• Laboratory Evaluation of Continuous Cuff Pressure Control Systems. Sherry Babic, RRT, Cleveland, OH
• Increasing ARDS Severity by Berlin Definition Reflects Overall Illness Severity. Richard H. Kallet, MS, RRT, FAARC, San Francisco, CA
• Prevalence, Knowledge, Beliefs, and Attitude of Waterpipe (Hookah) Smoking Among Health Care Student at a Southeastern Urban Research University. Mohammed M. Alqahtani, MS, RRT, Atlanta, GA
• Perspectives from COPD Subjects on Long-Term Oxygen Therapy (LTOT) Devices. Constance Mussa, PhD, RRT-NPS, Chicago, IL

The Open Forum is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Monaghan.

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