In response to the recent publishing of a new video course designed to help non ICU health care providers finding themselves in the ICU setting to support the critical care team better understand ventilators, leaders from BOMA and the AARC shared letters with the respiratory therapy community expressing their support of the program. Peter J. Papadakos, MD, FCCM, FCCP, FAARC, chair of the Board of Medical Advisors (BOMA), along with Karen Schell, AARC President and Teri Miller, AARC Speaker of the House, wrote letters explaining the purpose and need of the course.
Papadakos explained that “this educational program would help prepare physicians, nurses, respiratory care students, and recent respiratory therapy retirees to receive an up-to-date overview of mechanical ventilation.”
In their joint letter, Schell and Miller explained that the course was developed “with the intent to provide a primer for those professionals, like physicians, who find themselves staffing an ICU under a pandemic staffing model when they have not done so before or recently.”
Schell and Miller also emphasized that the AARC does not “endorse this crisis staffing model in non-pandemic times or in facilities that are not experiencing the patient surge that makes this staffing model necessary.” Adding that “the AARC absolutely believes the best person to care for the patient’s cardiopulmonary care is the respiratory therapist.”
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Heather Willden is the Director of Governance and Strategic Initiatives for the AARC where she works with state affiliates as the HOD liaison. She also manages DEI efforts and strategic initiatives. Connect with her about these topics by email, AARConnect or LinkedIn. When she's not working, you can find her podcasting with her husband, exploring new hiking trails, photographing, and spending time with her family.
