Valley West Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation (Respiratory Therapy) Department, in conjunction with your physician, customizes a program that will meet your individual needs. Staffed with credentialed and licensed Respiratory Care Practitioners, the therapists are certified in basic life support, advanced cardiac life support and neonatal/pediatric rescitation. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for inpatient services.
For more information call 815.786.3716.
Respiratory Therapy Can Help You
- Enhance your ability to perform everyday tasks
- Learn how the lungs function
- Understand your lung problem
- Learn the proper way to use inhalers
- Learn about breathing medications and oxygen
- Improve exercise tolerance and endurance
- Improve balance
- Learn how to use an inhalation muscle strengthener
- Use relaxation skills and avoid stressful situations which cause shortness of breath
- Reduce length and frequency of hospital stays
- Be more self-confident and more in control of your life
- Resume social activities and interests
- May return to work
Is Respiratory Therapy Right For You?
If you answer “yes” to any of the following questions, we can help.
- Short of breath climbing the stairs
- Short of breath walking long distances, like in a mall or grocery store?
- Short of breath performing household chores?
- Short of breath showering or dressing?
- Afraid of having a breathing attack outside your home?
- Avoiding long trips or vacations?
Program Features
- Administration of medical gases
- Delivery of respiratory medications
- Mechanical ventilator management
- Artificial airway management
- Arterial blood sampling
- Asthma therapy and teaching
- Noninvasive ventilation (CPAP/BiPAP)
- Electrocardiograms (EKG)
- Holter monitoring
- Pulmonary function testing
Cardiopulmonary Services
Valley West Community Hospital’s Respiratory Therapy Cardiopulmonary Department can provide you with state of the art pulmonary and cardiac diagnostics.
Pulmonary Function Lab
Our pulmonary function lab can diagnose obstructive versus restrictive lung disease and determine your response to bronchodilator medications. Our licensed respiratory care practitioners can also draw arterial blood gases to help determine how well you’re breathing. We can then treat you with nebulizer treatments, oxygen therapy, and chest physical therapy. When all else fails, we have the same ventilator capabilities used by major teaching institutions to provide all your needs.Bipap
Bipap is another modality we can use to avoid intubation and ventilation in patients with mild to moderate respiratory failure. A study done by the Cardiopulmonary Department in 2003 demonstrated a 90% success rate in avoiding intubation by using our Bipap equipment. The National average is 80 percent.Cardiac Testing
Cardiac testing in the form of EKG’s (electrocardiograms), Holter Monitoring, and Event Monitoring is also performed by the Cardiopulmonary Department. Holter and Event Monitoring allows the patient to be monitored at home and for longer periods of time.
