In order to provide the outstanding patient experience Madonna has become known for nationwide, interdisciplinary teams are often constructed with the unique needs of each patient in mind. Often times, our teams call on the expertise of respiratory therapists (RTs) to focus on the cardiopulmonary system, comprised of the heart and lungs. This week has been designated by the American Association for Respiratory Care to recognize the critical work RTs do for patients across the country.
A respiratory therapist may work in a variety of settings, from acute care facilities, rehabilitation hospitals like Madonna, physicians clinics, and home health care. They may treat patients who range in age from a premature baby all the way up to the geriatric population. Tasks could include ventilator management, breathing treatments, setup and maintenance of equipment, and providing education for patients and caregivers.
At Madonna, we have respiratory therapists available to patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and they play an integral role in caring for adults and children with pulmonary compromise. They are part of the care team that takes care of patients on ventilators, often with the goal of weaning from a tracheotomy tube and improving overall pulmonary health.
When asked about Madonna’s unique approach to respiratory therapy, Melissa Gulizia, Pulmonary Program Manager says she’s proud of Madonna’s commitment to collaboration when it comes to serving patients. “As part of the team, we work close with the patient and family to ensure an effective and individualized treatment plan. Madonna RT's are forced to think outside the box due to the complexity and diverse population of the patients we serve. We integrate leading edge technology to help our patients become as independent as possible.”
Madonna RTs have access to technology not often found even among rehabilitation hospitals, including Vapotherm, which provides heated humidification to tracheostomy patients, helping them to breathe more easily and wean faster. Madonna has been designated as one of only a handful of Centers of Excellence by Vapotherm. We have also earned the distinction among only 12 hospitals nationwide as a Passy-Muir Center of Excellence for our outstanding utilization of the Passy-Muir valve, which increases independence through speech.
Please join us in extending our most sincere thanks to our entire Respiratory Therapy team for the work they do to provide our patients with outstanding care and support.