8 Tips from Our Respiratory Care Practitioners

Education

RCPs

Edyta and Jennifer are Respiratory Care Practitioners at Independence Plus

We’re celebrating Respiratory Care Practitioner Week early with 8 tips from our Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCP). Our RCPs are our go-to experts when it comes to respiratory care and services at home for our patients with complex medical and respiratory needs.

In honor of Respiratory Care Practitioner Week, we spoke to each of our RCPs to learn about their number one tip or piece of advice for patients and their families coming home for the first time with Respiratory Home Medical Equipment.

Here’s what they had to say:

  1. Try to be patient and kind to each other while you are adjusting to your “new normal.” – Anne O., RRT, RCP
  1. When you’re leaving home for the first time, either for a physician visit, shopping, or visiting family and friends, don’t forget to pack the emergency equipment and supplies required for the trip. To name a few, but not all: portable suction machine, ambu bag, portable O₂ tank (if ordered), car D/C adapter, A/C power pack for LTV ventilator, pulse oximeter, and other supplies, such as a back-up trach tube, suction catheter, and g-tube. – Romulo S., RRT, RCP
  1. Review supplies that are needed and keep a list of supplies you’re running short on, so you won’t forget to order them. Also, sometimes people order unnecessary supplies because their insurance covers it. If you order supplies and don’t need them, they may just sit in your house collecting dust and taking up space. – Jennifer B., RRT, RCP
  1. Keep a notebook of current medications and questions for your respiratory care practitioner and/or your physician. When you visit with your healthcare providers, take the notebook and review the medications. Ask the questions and write the answers next to the question to review later on. – Mark E., RCP
  1. Change the filter on your furnace monthly to reduce dust and pollution in the house that may be brought into the equipment. – Edyta O., RRT, RCP
  1. Providing good oral care will help reduce possible infections (such as ventilator associated pneumonia) for ventilator-dependent patients. Be sure to ask your respiratory care practitioner and/or physician for the appropriate oral care protocol and procedure. – John C., RRT, RCP
  1. Keep a list of emergency contacts next to the telephone or in a central location. Be sure to include home phone numbers, cell phone number, email addresses, and addresses. – Kathy K., CRT, RCP
  1. When we provide education and training for the patient’s primary caregivers, it’s important to take notes and ask questions. We also provide simple to read instructions, DVDs and educational website references that you can reference at any time. – Corey E., RRT, RCP

A huge thank you to our RCPs who work tirelessly to provide exemplary care and services to our patients who live at home with complex medical and respiratory needs.

We appreciate what you do and the way you do it every day–24/7!

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