CHICAGO - TelAve -- Setting a National Respiratory Standard of Care: Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety Announces Enhanced Respiratory Care Review Committee

The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety (PPAHS) is pleased to announce the formation of the Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee.

The Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee will make best practice recommendations on the standards long-term care facilities should follow when caring for patients receiving prolonged mechanical ventilation. These Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards will form the basis for a new accreditation of healthcare facilities so that patients and their families will be able to recognize facilities that meet national standards.

"Prolonged mechanical ventilation in alternate care settings is a patient safety issue," explained Michael Wong, JD (Executive Director, PPAHS). "In the vast majority of states, there are little to no quality requirements for long-term ventilator care facilities, such as Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNF), that establish adequate staffing ratios of qualified respiratory therapists, advanced monitoring of pulse oximetry/end-tidal CO2, outcomes tracking, use of advanced technologies, or quality oversight. Additionally, there is no accreditation program focused on this specialty service. As a result, many ventilator-dependent/tracheostomized patients receive substandard long-term care."

Subbarao Potharaju, Director, Marketing Homecare at Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, discussed the importance of a standard of respiratory care for improving patient outcomes:

"Fisher & Paykel Healthcare is pleased to be part of PPAHS's efforts to develop benchmark standards to improve the quality of respiratory care and outcomes of patients in long-term acute care and skilled nursing facilities."

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Accreditation Standards will be developed, reviewed, and approved by a committee with diverse backgrounds in long-term care administration, staffing, regulatory affairs, outcomes tracking, and clinical care. Members of the Standards Review Committee are:

• Thomas M. Fuhrman, MD, MMSc, FCCP Chief of Anesthesia, Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Healthcare System - Tampa Bay, Florida
• Clyde Heflin MD, FACCP – Pulmonologist - Nashville, Tennessee.
• Pam Clayton RN, LNHA - VP Quality, Regulatory Affairs at GA Health Care Association
• Carrie Ermshar MBA, LNHA – Senior Care Executive Consultant, Houston, Texas
• William Beal RRT, Massachusetts Board of Respiratory Care - Norwell, Massachusetts
• Lisa Zaenger RRT, VP of Staffing at PEL/VIP - Oak Lawn, Illinois
• Zachary Gantt RRT, FAARC, President and CEO Encore HealthCare - Livingston, Tennessee

Gene Gantt RRT, FAARC (President, Eventa LLC), who has been running the Enhanced Respiratory Care program in Tennessee since 2013, said, "The Enhanced Respiratory Care program is based on standards published by the American Association for Respiratory Care. Utilized in Tennessee, this program has achieved liberation rates of 65% and has earned national recognition of excellence from the American College of Chest Physicians. I am pleased to moderate the Standards Review Committee in this critically important patient safety task." Mr. Gantt is a member of PPAHS's board of advisors.

Commenting on the importance of setting a national standard of respiratory care, Matthew Pavlichko, MS RRT-NPS, Director of Professional Development and Education at Vapotherm, Inc. said:

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"One of Vapotherm's guiding principles is, 'Customers and their Patients are our Total Focus'.  We are proud sponsors of the PPAHS Enhanced Respiratory Program to assure that all long-term care facilities provide the highest standard of ventilator care so that all long-term ventilator patients have the best chance of being liberated from both the ventilator and tracheostomy and live their fullest lives."

Chris Southerland, General Manager of Breas Medical USA, said that Breas is proud to be a sponsor of this national effort to improve patient care:

"Breas is pleased to partner with The Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety's Enhanced Respiratory Care Standards Review Committee to help formulate an accreditation program to optimize the delivery of mechanical ventilation in post-acute care facilities.  The need for such a program seems long overdue, and with the expertise at PPAHS developing and managing this new accreditation program, Breas is proud to support their efforts."

About Physician-Patient Alliance for Health and Safety

An internationally ranked patient safety organization, Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety is a national advocacy force for addressing patient health and safety priorities that are shared by patients, physicians, regulators, and industry. We seek to ensure that the best medications, medical inventions, and technology that can improve care and reduce costs are employed. PPAHS works to advance patient health and safety by developing and highlighting best practices and recommendations through better use and application of clinical practices and experiences, information technologies and checklists, and healthcare information. As a voice in support of ideas and innovation that can improve care, we encourage a health ecosystem that fosters a culture of patient safety. For more about PPAHS, please go to www.ppahs.org.