AARC Election 2026 — Sara Hough

AARC Activities:

• Education section member
• Neo/Peds section member
• Adult Critical Care section member

Affiliate Activities:

• Missouri Society Board of Directors-Director at Large 2022-2024
• Nominations and Elections Committee Chair 2022-2024
• Conference relocation committee member 2024-present
• Missouri Society education committee member 2021-present

Related Organizations:

• Ozarks Technical Community College-Director of Clinical Education

Education and Credentials:

• EdD in Higher Education Rockhurst University (expected graduation May 2026)
• MBA Drury University 2018
• BS Health Sciences Drury University 2014
• AAS Respiratory Therapy Ozarks Technical Community College 2011

Elections Committee Questions:

What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the AARC, and what do you recommend to address it?

Membership. I believe that a lot of respiratory therapists have fallen off the radar about getting involved in our societies at state, and national levels. I believe that with the right approach and techniques, we can reconnect with therapists nationwide to get people interested and excited about what the AARC is doing for the respiratory therapists.

Healthcare is changing more rapidly than ever. What ideas do you have to help today’s respiratory therapist meet these challenges?

I think that in our current culture of rapid change, accepting these changes and ensuring we incorporate things like AI and social media into daily use rather than shying away from them, this will open up more opportunities. Embracing change is so important for growth in our world. Our younger generations are speaking in ways older generations don’t understand. We need to grasp the changes and use them to get ahead in all aspects. Utilizing creativity is of utmost importance to ensure we are communicating with everyone in ways they like to receive information.

The value of this section is important. If given the opportunity to represent, what would you do to increase the value of this section, and how would you increase interest in section membership?

I think one of the biggest obstacles the education section is currently facing is finding qualified candidates for respiratory therapy programs in masse. I hear from so many of my colleagues that seats are going unfilled, attrition is problematic, and finding qualified candidates is a full-time job. We are all in the same position of experiencing a changing student landscape and coming up against obstacles we haven’t in the past in a post-COVID world. Learners are different, attitudes are different, skill level is different. I hope to be able to help those in the education section by incorporating group dynamics to ensure we are all able to improve the current situation that is the education sector of our field. The future of respiratory therapy lies in education and we must invest in the future of educating future RTs.