Morehead Hospital earns respiratory award

Morehead Memorial Hospital has again received the Quality Respiratory Care Recognition. The hospital’s cardiopulmonary services department has received the award every year since 2003.
“The award is an indication that the department is committed to providing the highest quality standards as possible,” said Kerry Faunce, director of marketing and public relations for Morehead Memorial Hospital.
Morehead is one of about 700 hospitals, or about 15 percent of hospitals in the United States, that applied for and received the respiratory care award, a news release said. The American Association for Respiratory Care started the Quality Respiratory Care Recognition program in 2003 to help potential consumers identify facilities using qualified respiratory therapists. According to http://www.YourLungHealth.org, Quality Respiratory Care Recognition means “first-rate respiratory care.”
“We want to deliver the safest and best quality of patient care,” said Cindy Johnson, director of cardiopulmonary services for Morehead. She said the cardiopulmonary services department uses national standards and protocols for patient care. Patients receiving oxygen therapy, for instance, are on the oxygen protocol.
“We’re constantly assessing the patients, trying to get them to a level where they can get off the oxygen,” said Johnson. “By having protocols, we can reduce their length of stay, which is cost-effective.”
To qualify for Quality Respiratory Care Recognition, Morehead proved it meets the following criteria for its respiratory care services:
· All respiratory therapists employed by the hospital to deliver bedside respiratory care services are either legally recognized by the state as competent to provide respiratory care services or hold the CRT or RRT credential.
· Other personnel qualified to perform specific respiratory procedures and the amount of supervision required for personnel to carry out specific procedures must be designated in writing.
· Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours a day.
· A physician is designated as medical director of respiratory care services.
Respiratory therapists are specifically trained health care professionals who work under the instruction of physicians to provide “a wide range of breathing treatments and other services to people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, AIDS, and other lung and lung-related conditions,” the release said.
The therapists also provide respiratory care for premature infants and are part of a medical response team that treats people experiencing medical emergencies, according to Johnson. 
Staff Writer Miranda Baines can be reached at or 349-4331, ext. 35.