The Respiratory Care Department at the CHCC is comprised of a team of respiratory therapists who are all Certified Respiratory Therapists (CRT) and Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT). They are specially trained healthcare professionals and credentialed by the National Board for Respiratory Care (NBRC) to provide advanced life support for patients that are very sick.
Our respiratory therapists at the CHCC work in all areas of the hospital, including the ER, medical and surgical units, adult and neonatal ICU, pediatrics, and labor and delivery. We care for patients by evaluating, treating, and maintaining cardiopulmonary (heart and lung) function. We attend to patients who have trouble breathing because of asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). We also provide emergency care to patients suffering from heart attacks, stroke, drowning, or shock. Our Respiratory Therapists additionally attend high risk births and deliveries to provide support for newborns that have trouble breathing, and provide airway management during off island transport of critically ill patients of all ages.
Our Respiratory Care Department also provides outpatient testing to evaluate heart and lung function, which include 24 hour Holter monitoring, cardiac stress testing via treadmill, and Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT).