Respiratory Therapists  are skilled and fully trained Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCPs) who provide Emergency Room patients with a wide scope of services ranging from simple oxygen therapy to mechanical ventilation.  Patients with shortness of breath or an exacerbation of pulmonary diseases such as asthma and COPD, as well as patients with respiratory problems which are secondary to many other emergency diagnoses are immediately evaluated and treated.  RCPs perform pulse oximetry, EKGs, arterial blood gas sampling and analysis, bedside spirometry and peak flow measurements to assess changes in a patient’s emergent respiratory status. RCPs administer breathing treatments with a variety of equipment and medications. When needed, RCPs assist with conscious sedation, CPR, and intubation, and manage mechanical ventilation in patients who are unable to breathe on their own.  

Inpatient services include many of the modalities used by RCPs in the ER. RCPs also provide inpatients with bronchial hygiene using bland aerosol therapy, percussion therapy, and postural drainage techniques. Hyperinflation therapy to promote maximal inspiration in post-operative patients is provided via incentive spirometry and positive airway pressure. RCPs generally monitor inpatients every four hours, and more often if necessary.

Outpatient services, obtained by prescription, include pulmonary function tests, pulmonary rehab, and 6-minute walk tests, which are done by appointment on Monday through Friday. Other outpatient services, such as EKGs and arterial blood gases, can be done on an “as available” basis on any day of the week, usually in well under an hour from the time of the patient’s arrival at Benson Hospital .

Smoking cessation information is provided by RCPs who have taken a Basic Tobacco Intervention Skills program offered for healthcare professionals by the Arizona Department of Health Services in conjunction with the HealthCare Partnership at The University of Arizona.       

History of the Department at Benson Hospital

Benson Hospital ’s Respiratory Therapy Department was created in Spring 2006 and is thus the newest department in the hospital.  Starting with just one RCP working a Monday to Friday day shift, the department quickly expanded to offer 24/7 coverage of the ER and inpatient floor by the summer of 2006.  Outpatient services were added soon afterwards, and a sophisticated mechanical ventilator was bought in 2007 for use with emergency patients who are unable to breathe.  Every one of the RCPs working in Benson Hospital has obtained a minimum of a two-year associate’s degree in Respiratory Therapy, has passed registered and/or certified written and clinical exams offered by the National Board of Respiratory Care, and maintains a license to practice issued every two years by the Arizona Board of Respiratory Care Examiners. RCPs are required to obtain 20 hours of education credits to renew their license.     

Interesting Facts       

1. Between them, RCPs at Benson Hospital can communicate with their patients in English, Spanish, German, Polish, and Navajo.          

2. Tobacco use is the chief preventable cause of illness and death in our society.

3. The motto of the Arizona Board of Respiratory Care Examiners is “Dum Spiro, Spero”. (While I breathe, I hope.)       

4. An average 80-year-old person takes almost 700 million breaths during his/her lifetime.