NSU’s programs in Respiratory Therapy in the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences loaned eight ventilators to local hospitals in the Palm Beach area that may be short during the COVID-19 pandemic. Six ventilators went to Wellington Regional Medical Center and two to Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. It is anticipated that healthcare facilities will need extra ventilators to manage patients during this pandemic and NSU has stepped up to assist their clinical partners. In addition to the loaned hardware, NSU has provided educational support from the Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences’ faculty.
COVID-19 positive individuals who experience severe symptoms of respiratory distress may require mechanical ventilation. As hospitals swell with patients testing positive and with difficulty breathing, respiratory therapists are on the frontline managing these patients and running ventilators. Not only are respiratory therapists essential to ventilator management, but they are one of the unsung heroes who put their lives on the line by being exposed to the Coronavirus through required close contact. As the pandemic has evolved the importance of respiratory therapists has never been more apparent.
Of course, the mechanical ventilation hardware is only one part of the execution of the mechanical ventilation intervention. Managing a ventilator is much more than turning a knob, it takes special education and training to operate ventilators effectively and safely. NSU’s Department of Cardiopulmonary Sciences prepares students to fill that role and to address community needs. It is an intense and rigorous program that results in practitioners who can function in a critical care unit immediately upon graduation. It is an exciting and intriguing discipline that is knee-deep in the current pandemic.
As the need for ventilators increase, so does the need for experts to operate them. NSU’s programs in Respiratory Therapy are preparing these members of the critical care team to work on the front line. Learn more at www.nova.edu/respiratorytherapy.