RTs Celebrate Big During RC Week 2007

November 9, 2007

Corona Regional Medical Center, Corona, CA
The cardiopulmonary department hosted a day-long education conference that attracted more than 65 RTs, RT students, and nurses. The attendees learned all about managing a difficult airway, keeping lungs healthy, how to provide palliative care in the ICU, COPD disease management, and the respiratory therapist’s role in the delivery room from physicians who are recognized as experts in their respective fields.

Corona Regional Medical Center

Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, WV
RC Week was a time for daily luncheons, giveaways from local vendors, and “Respiratory Olympic Games” where the shifts competed against each other in a series of fun competitions every evening. The week ended with a picnic and wiffleball game between staff members and RT students from St. Mary’s College. (The students won!)

Good Samaritan Hospital

Good Samaritan Hospital, Vincennes, IN
The week-long celebration included theme days Monday through Friday, with special decorations and games tying into the theme of the day and special food and snacks for each shift. This year staff formed decorating teams and competed against each other for best theme, with winners receiving hospital logo items. Vendors helped sponsor special meals throughout the week, and everyone received an appreciation bag full of goodies and snacks to thank them for their service. The hospital display case was decked out for the week too, with information about RT and smoking cessation.

Good Samaritan Hospital

Danbury Hospital, Danbury, CT
Respiratory therapists hosted a day-long lung screening in the hospital lobby, performing more than 60 spirometries in seven hours. The event was open to the public, and got press coverage too, in a great article that appeared in the Danbury News Times. Department manager Frank R. Salvatore, Jr. talked about COPD and how many Americans are walking around with the condition but have yet to be diagnosed, while staff member Kate Dunn Richmond was featured as she tested a hospital worker.

Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
The Cardiopulmonary Association of Pre-Professional Students—or “CPAPS”—staffed an information booth in the college café, providing materials on the respiratory care program, the profession, smoking cessation, and other lung health issues. Activities included free pulse oximetries and peak flow measurements, a game to guess the correct number of cigarette butts in a jar, and lots of great give-aways for the crowd.

Bellarmine University

University of Minnesota Medical Center Fairview, Minneapolis, MN
An electronic flyer featuring pictures of staff performing typical respiratory functions went out to every employee in the hospital, along with a message asking them to help promote lung health during the week. An invitation to stop by the department’s booth in the cafeteria was issued as well, and pulmonary staff took part in educational presentations ranging from a talk on “20 Years of Lung Transplantation” by Dr. Marshall Hertz to a session on asthma by Department Manager Ed Corazalla.

The department also hosted a bake-off and this year initiated a new game called “How well do you know our new employees?” in which each new employee provided five fun facts about themselves and then the rest of the department tried to guess which fact went with which employee. Two AARC memberships were raffled off as well, along with six Littman stethoscopes, six hooded sweatshirts, and several gift cards and gift baskets.

University of Minnesota Medical Center

New York Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn, NY
Staff celebrated with lots of special events, including a guitar performance by one RT who found a unique way to practice—he attached his electric guitar to a stethoscope so he wouldn’t disturb his co-workers!

New York Methodist Hospital

Griffin Hospital, Derby, CT
The department created a display featuring pictures of all of its therapists for the hospital lobby and also provided printed information for patients to pick up as they visited the area. The highlight of the week came on Wednesday, when State Representative Linda Gentile visited the facility to present a special citation to the department commemorating the week. Staff also enjoyed luncheons all week long and everyone received special gifts.

The week ended with a “decorate a pumpkin to look like your favorite doc” contest, with everyone in the hospital invited to vote for their favorite. “All these functions were designed to spotlight respiratory therapy and bring to light our daily contribution to the multidisciplinary team,” says supervisor Diane Wood.

Griffin Hospital

Baptist Health, Little Rock, AR
Therapists set up an educational booth in the hospital lobby to inform the public about asthma and other pulmonary conditions, and staff were treated to catered meals each day. Shift parties took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a disco theme and drawing for prizes. The entire week was coordinated by Shelly Peas, from the department’s Employee Satisfaction Council.

Baptist Health

St. Mary’s Hospital, Enid, OK
Respiratory Care Week was never a big deal at St. Mary’s—in fact, many RTs didn’t even know it existed—until Kent Jordan took over as manager a few years ago. But that was then, and this is now! As they have for several years now, staff celebrated with special RC Week t-shirts (the logo for 2007 was Respiratory ROCS, standing for “Respiratory Outstanding Care Services”) and continued a new tradition to elect their own Respiratory Therapist of the Year.

“Three years ago I noticed that while we had an Employee of the Month program in the hospital none of my great therapists were being nominated. I came up the idea that we would vote in our own Respiratory Therapist of the Year,” says the manager. At first it was a department-only event, but now everyone in the hospital is invited to participate, and this year Jordan gave everyone a chance to write in reasons why they chose a specific therapist, receiving great comments like “always smiling,” “cheerful,” “great to be around, “great patient care,” and “really knows their stuff.”

The department has a pretty unique way of honoring the winner too: the RT of the Year sports an Elvis mask. “Hey,” says the manager, “the King of Rock n’ Roll—what better way to say you are the King of Respiratory!” This year’s winner was staff member Michelle Stegeman, who received comments ranging from “always helpful” to “a great team player.”

St. Mary’s Hospital

Florida Hospital, Ormond Beach, FL
The department hosted the Fourth Annual State of the Lung Seminar on Lung Health Day, focusing on sleep apnea. The event drew 170 attendants, who also took part in a mystery dinner following the presentations. Therapists collected little known facts about everyone on staff as well, and then hosted a contest to match the fact with the therapist. Managers say the contest gave everyone the chance to get to know their co-workers a little better than they did before.

Florida Hospital

St. Louis Community College Forest Park, St. Louis, MO
Students set up a booth with lots of great lung health information, including information about smoking and the harmful effects it has on health. Free blood pressure and pulse oximetry testing was offered as well, and the students distributed facts about smoking they gleaned from a web site called truth.com. Senior students set up two ventilators, one with healthy lungs and the other with smoker’s lungs, to demonstrate how smoking reduces the lungs’ ability to oxygenate the blood, and handed out information from the American Cancer Society. Freshmen students also held a bake sale to raise funds for respiratory equipment in third world countries, raising about $200 to send abroad.

St. Louis Community College

University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO
Senior students held free lung screenings and distributed information on smoking cessation in the student center and also used the event to promote the profession. Since it was “Black & Gold Day” on campus, an annual event where prospective students and their parents visit the school, it was a great chance to meet and greet potential students and let them know about the wonderful career opportunities in the profession.

University of Missouri-Columbia

Mississippi Society for Respiratory Care
Therapists from the North Region took part in two American Lung Association fund raising activities: the annual Asthma Walk and Bowling for Better Breathing Tournament. Overall, the group brought in about $3,000 for lung health programs at the organization.

RTs from the Central Region were interviewed on the Mid Mississippi Morning Show, where they shared great information about COPD. The group also helped educate their community about COPD through articles published in New Direction Magazine and the Rolling Thunder, and hosted a Motorcycle Rally that carried the theme, “Rally for COPD Awareness, Riding for Your Next Breath 2007.” The event featured an educational program offering 13 CEUs, a Sputum Bowl competition, and a uniform fashion show.

Mississippi Society for Respiratory Care

Western Arizona Regional Medical Center, Bullhead City, AZ
Manager Gary Lynch set up a display featuring an old Bird Mark 7 ventilator standing next to a modern Puritan Bennett 840 and then used the recent 60 Minutes story on Dr. Forrest Bird to explain how ventilator technology has changed over the years. He and his group also made good use of the AARC’s new Life & Breath video, which elicited a lot of positive responses from people who came by the display. Lynch says he even had one person note that he was going to check into entering the field.

The display included a feature called “Are You Smarter than an RT?” as well. People read the sign asking that question, then Lynch presented them with a list of formulas used in the profession. When they couldn’t understand the formulas, he had them say, “No, I Am Not Smarter than an RT!” The manager says the activity produced good laughs all around.

Newman Regional Health, Emporia, KS
The department hosted an open house featuring great information on all the services it provides, including cardiac rehabilitation, sleep testing, a catheterization lab, and electrocardiogram services in addition to RT. A display set up at the entrance to the department drew a lot of attention, with a smoker’s lung hooked up to a ventilator placed near a healthy pink lung. The open house received press coverage in the local newspaper.

Newman Regional Health

Westchester Community College, Valhalla, NY
Students in the Respiratory Care Club put up banners proclaiming the week and set up demonstrations and pulmonary function screenings in the Student Center. A conference featuring RTs and a physician speaking on lung health topics was a big hit as well. The events were coordinated by club advisor, professor Mark Hanna, program director Jose Quinones, and officers James Aluko, Sandrena Palmer, and Laura Andersen.

Westchester Community College

Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, Roswell, NM
Students hosted an open house in the Health Science Center, offering a flow volume loop test to screen for early COPD. They also issued a press release highlighting the event and providing statistics on COPD in New Mexico. The press release noted the commitment of RTs to raising awareness of COPD in the state and promoting early testing for the disease.

Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell

University of Texas-Brownsville, Brownsville, TX
An open house hosted by students was a big success, with 186 people coming by to tour the program’s lab and watch demonstrations that included oxygen administration, chest x-ray interpretation, PEFR, ICU care, medical gases, pulse oximetry, and chest physiotherapy. Balloons, punch, and cupcakes were provided as well, and games were part of the mix too. The Respiratory Therapy Club and Lambda Beta sold popcorn and held a silent auction to help fund club activities. The event was covered by the university newspaper.

University of Texas-Brownsville

Logan Medical Center, Guthrie, OK
RTs enjoyed games ranging from “Who Am I?”, where therapists provided statements about themselves and coworkers tried to match the statements with the appropriate therapists, to “Who’s Full of Hot Air?”, a competition to see who could get the biggest breath with incentive spirometry. Prizes were donated by local businesses and included gigantic mums, gas cards, gift certificate, pizzas, and chocolates. The week’s events were organized by Jessica Moore.

Homestead Hospital, Homestead, FL
Therapists began preparing for this year’s celebration in October of 2006, when respiratory clinician Edda Avila began collecting $1 every two weeks from each member of the department. Everyone in the department took part, and the funds were matched by department director Karen Mella and supervisor Rollene Price, who purchased jackets with the hospital logo and the employee’s name for each member of the staff.

A health fair also took place on Lung Health Day, where RTs performed peak flow and oximetry readings for the public and handed out free popcorn to all who came by. A slide show featuring pictures of staff members ran throughout the fair, and an intubation mannequin connected to a ventilator caught the attention of many nurses, who used the occasion to ask questions and learn more about respiratory care. Hospital vice president and former RT Corey Gold hosted a banquet for the department during lunch one day as well.

Homestead Hospital