Respiratory Care: There When You Need Us

Respiratory Care Week 2009

October 25–31

Activity Ideas

Need planning ideas for Respiratory Care Week? Check out this list of activities from past RC Weeks, suggestions received from members, and ideas borrowed from other groups.

1. Organize a Vent 5K.
2. Contact local schools about Peak Performance USA.
3. Put an announcement on your facility’s computer network.
4. Recognize each staff member for his/her special contribution.
5. Award a staff member with an AARC webcast or online educational course.
6. Conduct an "MDI/DPI Check-Up Clinic." Ask patients to bring their inhalers and you'll check their technique.
7. Hold a “Lunch and Learn” gathering to bring other facility staff up to date on the latest advances in respiratory care.
8. Organize a day of lung health seminars for respiratory therapists in your facility or your area.
9. Identify new career and technical education centers and programs at the high schools in your area. Develop contacts with them for upcoming career fairs or other opportunities to promote the career.
10. Ask the marketing or public relations department at your institution to help you with planning/advertising community events.
11. Perform spirometry screenings at a local senior center on Lung Health Day.
12. Call your morning drive-time DJs to request coverage or sponsorship of your respiratory care awareness event.
13. Host an awards banquet to recognize the entire respiratory care staff for their efforts throughout the year, but make it a little different by giving comedy awards for “most creative” moments or “fastest on your feet” in the past year.
14. Send your respiratory product vendors an email about the dates and let them know your plans.
15. Show the Life and Breath video during a busy lunch hour to show what respiratory therapists do.
16. Host a walk-a-thon or fun run event.
17. Set up a fund-raiser to send a pediatric patient to Asthma Camp.
18. Offer a free session on asthma triggers at the YMCA or community center.
19. Broadcast Respiratory Care Week in advance with emails and bulletins of your schedule of events—and supplement them with banners, posters, buttons and/or table tents from the AARC.
20. Put on a “gurney tourney” in the parking lot and invite your local healthcare newsperson to participate.
21. Host a silent auction to raise money for a scholarship for an RT student.
22. Ask your pediatric patients to create posters for an art show.
23. Present a health fair along with respiratory care practitioners from other facilities.
24. Do something unexpected for the staff—either as a group or individually.
25. Have a “funniest photo” contest among the staff.
26. Start a photo album or online scrapbook that you can use when offering explanations or reassurance to your patients.
27. Call the mayor’s office and ask for participation in a public screening event (be sure the media is on hand!).
28. Ask the mayor to officially declare Respiratory Care Week in your city.
29. Participate in career day with a local college that offers an RT curriculum.
30. Invite the local RT students to an information session or Q&A at your facility.
31. Reward yourselves with professional development. Take advantage of AARC Professor’s Rounds.
32. Introduce the www.YourLungHealth.org website to local pulmonary doctors and clinics. 
33. Recognize your support and administrative staff.
34. Invite the hospital staff to an Open House to let them know what you do.
35. Start a mentoring program with the local RT students.
36. Make a video about your respiratory department and show it at a pizza party for your staff.
37. Get your management informed about RC Week and the opportunity to get some publicity for the facility at community awareness events.
38. Do screenings and hand out information at a public event. Capture attention with “Check Your IQ” cards.
39. Have a peak flow contest at your facility to see who has the most “hot air”.
40. Contact the local newspaper about doing a feature on the career of respiratory therapy in the employment section.
41. Check with local newspapers and magazines to see if they are doing any special editorial series in the field of healthcare—maybe they can do a feature on your team.
42. Host an air pollution awareness seminar to raise money for a clean air campaign.
43. Run PSAs (public service announcements) on the television or radio—they’re free!
44. Thank everyone on your staff with a handwritten note.
45. Give away door prizes at a staff Bingo night.
46. Select a couple of current topics and bring everyone in the facility up to date with an internal health fair.
47. Have a trivia competition (mini-Sputum Bowl).
48. Get on the morning show on TV or radio to talk about RC Week and your profession.
49. Contact the local high school science clubs and offer to be a speaker about a career as a Respiratory Therapist.
50. Host an “arbor day” to stock or restock a park, greenbelt or forest with trees.
51. Have a raffle to raise funds to send staff members to educational seminars.
52. Thank all the staff members who support your team with a formal letter to their managers.
53. Get together with other groups to host a Fall Festival.
54. See what your state society is doing—are there any statewide events going on?
55. Get your healthcare institution certified for QRCR and award/display it during RC Week. Notify local media outlets of this accomplishment, too.
56. Find sponsors to help with funding of ongoing anti-smoking campaigns for the local schools. Businesses new to the area are sometimes a very good resource.
57. Invite your asthma patients to a get-together to learn more about asthma disease management, use of medications and equipment.
58. Take a photo of your staff wearing RC Week t-shirts and send it with an article to your hospital newsletter.  Don’t forget to upload it here, too.
59. Place an announcement about your activities in the hospital newsletter/calendar of events.
60. See what’s going on in your community in October and determine whether there’s an opportunity for spreading the word about lung health.
61. Encourage your management to get involved in your activities.
62. Have a bowling tournament or volleyball tournament at a favorite local spot and invite the community.
63. Have a department competition that centers around the theme of the effect of the different seasons on people in general—or on the respiratory care staff!
64. Honor a particularly special contribution of each team member.
65. Ask the local paper to run an ad promoting RC Week. It’s not really a PSA, but they get a chance to show the community they care without doing much. This could be worked into a media sponsorship if they’re open to it.
66. Reward one of your staff members with AARC International Respiratory Congress registration or AARC membership for the year.
67. Invite the state society board members to do a presentation to your facility’s staff. The presentation could be a lecture, or the awarding of an appreciation certificate.
68. Add your area of specialty practice to the membership of each AARC Member on your team in appreciation for all the work they do.
69. Send photos of your team in action to the AARC for inclusion in the AARC Photo Gallery. (Be sure you have permission to use the photos.)
70. Send an official Respiratory Care t-shirt to your local television morning show host and explain why you’re celebrating RC Week.
71. Does your hospital sponsor research in respiratory diseases? If so, ask your researchers to produce a 5-to-10 minute talk on what’s happening in this important arena.
72. Kick off an anti-smoking campaign with local groups or companies.
73. Is one of your therapists a previous patient? If so, tell that therapist’s story.
74. Explain why sports such as swimming are effective with those who have asthma.
75. Invite your local, state or national elected official into your facility and explain why it’s important that respiratory therapy is covered in all care settings including home care.
76. Tell your state society and your AARC public relations department what you’re doing to promote RC Week. You may just make it into our national magazine or be featured on the website.
77. Many high schools and colleges have their own TV or radio stations —you may want to contact them to see if you can get on a local show to promote the profession.
78. Offer your sincere thanks to all the areas of your facility. You’re a care team and acknowledging nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy and physicians, as well as the hundreds of other folks who work together with respiratory care is a good way to build relationships within your organization.
79. Don’t forget Lung Health Day during the middle of RC Week. Invite your local reporters to see how easy it is to have a spirometry test.
80. Radio deejays have a lot of fun during the morning drive time hour—see if you can get a couple of rival stations to compete for who has the hottest air in a spirometry screening contest.
81. Invite a local television, newspaper, or radio station to sponsor a Lung Health Day during RC Week. They’ll want to promote what they’re doing for local organizations so you’re sure to get some free publicity.
82. Ask your City Council/Government to proclaim the week as a special recognition week in your city. Staff can do the same for their hometowns/suburbs.
83. Ask local RTs to call their favorite radio show and request songs that include the word air, breathe, or breath—to honor respiratory therapists.
84. Contact other RT departments, schools or home health companies to coordinate a community-wide effort to promote lung health.
85. Invite hot air balloonists to set up their balloons at your facility. Or plan a balloon fiesta during RC Week.
86. Ask local public libraries to post displays about lung health with listings or displays of books to read.
87. Invite your administrators to an event to help honor your staff and learn more about your department and your profession.
88. Have a career day and invite students and guidance counselors to come to your facility to learn more about your department and the profession.
89. Have a family day. Invite spouses and children to come to the facility to learn more about what you do.
90. Ask local restaurants to prepare or feature meals for COPD patients. Ask local television stations to cover it.
91. Ask local health clubs to demonstrate exercises for COPD patients. Ask local television stations to cover it.
92. Go to senior citizen centers to promote respiratory health, provide COPD information, and perform spirometry tests.
93. Sponsor an air quality advisory in the paper, on the radio, on television or on the web.
94. Encourage every RT to individually promote the profession and good lung health to patients, family, friends, and community.
95. Meet with school nurses to present information on asthma disease management so that they can better help their students with asthma. Check out the Peak Performance USA program.
96. Display RC Week table tents in your cafeteria, each department’s break room, and in local restaurants.
97. Talk to local elementary, middle and high school science teachers about adding a program on the importance of good lung health to their annual curriculum. Offer to provide speakers and/or materials.
98. Participate in career day with a local high school and promote the profession as a career choice.
99. Introduce the www.YourLungHealth.org website to families at PTA meetings or church groups, or volunteer as a speaker at public libraries.
100. Here’s a list of stories and photos of what many facilities did in 2008.