The presentation will discuss the evidence supporting the use of supplemental oxygen in COPD and efforts underway to promote stakeholder-supported strategies to promote appropriate use of home oxygen during hospital-to-home transitions.

Respiratory Compromise is a state in which there is a high likelihood of decompensation into respiratory insufficiency, respiratory failure, or death but in which screening, monitoring, and specific interventions might prevent or mitigate decompensation.

Sponsored by

The Institute was formalized to develop approaches to education of the medical community and the general public, and to develop research opportunities that would assist the broad medical community to address respiratory compromise in varied settings including the hospital, nursing homes, and the home.

Respiratory Compromise is one of the top 5 conditions leading to increasing hospital costs and the 3rd leading cause for increasing hospital inpatient cost in the United States. General care floor patients with respiratory compromise are 29 times more likely to die; more than 60% of arrests brought on by respiratory compromise are potentially preventable.

As the concept of respiratory compromise continues to grow, the RCI seeks to identify specific research initiatives in both the medical and surgical settings from questions identified from big data.

80% of all sepsis begins outside of the hospital. Respiratory patients are at increased risk of developing sepsis due to chronic infections and frequent hospitalizations. If you work in a post-acute setting are you able to spot sepsis early and get the patient the treatment they need? How do you define post sepsis impact, and how does this affect our patient population?

Optimizing aerosolized medication delivery to spontaneously breathing patients with tracheostomies is an important aspect of disease management but clinicians have little guidance in this process. This presentation will discuss the literature published on aerosolized medication administration to this population and provide practical guidance.

Pediatric patients are not simply “small people.” Understanding the nuances of this population in context with tracheostomy management is vital. This presentation will discuss how the initiation, airway selection, and management of tracheostomy pediatric patients differ from adults.

Many different practices exist in the management of tracheostomy sites and airways. Do we clean with peroxide? How often do tracheostomy tubes need to be changed? This presentation will address common questions focused on tracheostomy management with information from the literature.

In this talk we will discuss the role of the RT in the highly competitive and acute environment of critical care transports. Safety topics will also be discussed. We will also identify the specific skill sets and personality traits that teams look for in a quality individual who can work well with a single other team member in the most acute environment and do it well. Case studies will also be reviewed.

Researchers and clinicians present the results of their work in this Posters Only session. Authors available from 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. for questions and answers. Poster Walk Rounds led by Bill F Galvin MSEd RRT CPFT AE-C FAARC and Dean R Hess PhD RRT FAARC.

Supported by an unrestricted educational grant from

As a home care provider when and how should you monitor infection control in the home? Monitoring infection control in the home is critical for clients/patients, staff, and the health of your business. Infection control monitoring isn’t just for hospitals.

Respiratory Compromise (RC) is a state in which there is a high likelihood of de-compensation into respiratory insufficiency, respiratory failure, or death but in which specific interventions (monitoring and/or therapies) might prevent or mitigate de-compensation. More than 60% of arrests brought on by respiratory compromise are potentially avoidable. This session will review the potential for respiratory compromise in post-acute care.

Pulmonary Fibrosis is a life-threatening condition of the lungs where tissues become thickened, stiff, and scarred over a period of time. Intense research to identify treatment options for specific types of pulmonary fibrosis disease is ongoing. This lecture will provide an overview of potential future therapies.

While pharmacologic treatment options for pulmonary fibrosis are ongoing, disease management strategies to help patients manage symptoms and prevent future complications also are key options. This lecture will look at the benefits of anaerobic exercise and other non-pharmacologic interventions.

A fresh look at aging and quality of life in the post-acute care ventilator unit specifically evaluating the needs of a younger population.

Various limitations exist when discharging patients to home with various equipment modalities. This lecture will discuss obstacles to care and how to identify barriers to care.

Are your patients oxygenated appropriately? This lecture will discuss the limitations in long term oxygen therapy when provided in the home.

Advances in technology have enabled critically ill but stable patients return to their home. This lecture will discuss barriers to care and how to ensure a safe discharge.

There are many barriers that prevent the use of an evidence-based approach to care to transform our practice. This lecture series will describe the tenets of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP), discuss the barriers and present solutions to transform a culture into one which prepares our workforce, level-loads EBP knowledge in an organization, and strategically infuses EBP into the culture by educating and empowering our current and future workforce.

The Navajo Nation is home to the largest Indian tribe in the U.S. and sprawls across northeast Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. National Jewish Health has been awarded an NHLBI grant to develop an Asthma Toolkit Program for the diagnosis and management of childhood asthma within the Navajo Nation where a recent surge of asthma cases have been identified. This lecture will review the collaboration program implemented within an outpatient and inpatient setting.