February 2, 2010 (Lewistown, PA) – Lewistown Hospital has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals.
About 700 hospitals or approximately 15% of hospitals in the United States have applied for and received this award. Lewistown Hospital has received this award annually since 2003.
The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services.
To qualify for the recognition, Lewistown Hospital provided documentation showing it meets the following conditions:
• 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.
• Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours.
• 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.
• A doctor of medicine or osteopathy is designated as medical director of respiratory care services.
Respiratory therapists are specially trained health care professionals who work under physician’s orders 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 or lung-related conditions. They also are key members of lifesaving response teams charged with handling medical emergencies.
