Posts Tagged ‘respiratory therapy’

PHS Respiratory Therapy Scholarship

Friday, January 27th, 2012

PHS is excited to announce the first annual PHS Respiratory Therapy Scholarship. The scholarship is designed for students (or recent graduates) enrolled in a Respiratory Therapy Program.

Philanthropy has always been important to everyone at Pediatric Home Service

There will be one grand prize scholarship of $1,000.00 and two second place scholarships of $500.00 each.

To apply for the scholarship please submit the following information via email to RTscholarship@pediatrichomeservice.com by February 29th. Winners will be selected and notified by March 19th.

In your email please include:

  • Name of school you attend(ed) or plan to attend in the upcoming school year
  • Proof of acceptance into an RT program
  • Anticipated graduation date
  • Letter of recommendation from a professor
  • Unofficial transcript
  • Short essay of 2,000 words or less on why you chose RT school, include in that essay:
    • Why you chose to attend RT school
    • Future plans for your career in Respiratory Therapy
    • Any accomplishments/activities in your field to date
  • Please also answer the following questions:
    • Have you already completed your clinical rotations? If not, would you consider PHS?
    • Are you currently a member of the AARC?

For more information on PHS, please watch the following video. We look forward to receiving your application and learning more about the future Respiratory Therapists.

NOTE: If selected as a winner of the PHS RT scholarship you give PHS permission to use your essay and any photos taken when scholarships are awarded.

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John’s Troubleshooting Tip of the Month: Nebulizer Kits

Monday, March 7th, 2011

PHS understands how stressful it can be when a piece of equipment isn’t working properly, and we want to help resolve any issues as soon as possible for you. So, once a month, PHS Respiratory Therapist, John Sheahan will post a tip on how to troubleshoot a common error with a piece of equipment.

nebulizer compressor, troubleshooting, phs, pediatric home serviceNebulizer therapy (delivering medication via aerosol droplets) was first developed by the French company Sales-Girons in 1858. Nebulizer treatments have come a long way since then, but occasionally you may still run into problems. Here are some hints that might help.

  • If you are experiencing a poor quality mist:
    • Check tubing for kinks or loose connections
    • Ensure nebulizer cup towers are inserted and placed correctly.
  • If treatments seem to last longer than normal:
    • Check nebulizer cups to make sure they are not cracked or worn.
    • Be sure to replace any cracked or worn neb cups.

Additionally, always have a new, unopened nebulizer kit on hand.

Nebulizer kits can be obtained at your local pharmacy if urgently needed. Most pharmacies stock nebulizer kits behind the pharmacy counter.

If you feel that the problem is not with the nebulizer kit but the nebulizer machine itself, please call PHS to let one of our clinicians troubleshoot with you over the phone at 651-642-1825.

John Sheahan, RRT-NPS, LRTJohn Sheahan, RRT-NPS, LRT is a Licensed Respiratory Therapist at PHS and would love to hear from you if you have a tip that you’ve found helps save insurance dollars, or have an idea for a Cost Effective Corner post. Share your tip or idea through a comment here or an email to John at jcsheahan@pediatrichomeservice.com.

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Worried about taking a sick baby home from the hospital? Help is available.

Thursday, July 8th, 2010

Janita McLean is right. Taking a medically-fragile baby home from the hospital is scary. And overwhelming.

Taking any baby home from the hospital – even a healthy one – can be daunting. Lots of fears run through the minds of new parents: will I be able to keep the baby safe? How will I know when the baby is sick? How will I know what he or she needs? Can I do this?

For parents who take a child home with tubes and trachs and vents, those anxieties are magnified many times.

Like Janita, you may know how that feels. When Janita brought home her baby, Emily needed lots of equipment and required 24-hour-a-day care. “We weren’t familiar with how to take care of a child with a lot of medical needs, and having the trach and being on the ventilator – it was scary,” said Janita.

As you saw in the video, Emily was born with lots of problems, including a type of hernia known as omphalocele, underdeveloped lungs, scoliosis, and a small thorax. She spent her first six months in a Minneapolis hospital, a situation complicated by the fact that the family lives in northern Minnesota.

Pediatric homecare in northern Minnesota

The distance between the hospital and home was hard on the whole family, says Janita, including brother Taylor, who was five at the time and didn’t understand why mom was gone so much.

Going home was the best option for everyone. And when they were ready, there was lots of help available to help them make the transition.

Respiratory therapy at home

With education and help from health care professionals, including a PHS respiratory therapist who even spent the Fourth of July with the family making sure they were okay, Emily made a smooth transition home. And continued delivery of supplies to northern Minnesota hasn’t been a problem.

Help is available for families every step of the way, from paperwork to in-home services to responding to that emergency, middle-of-the-night call for medication.

Off the vent

Off the vent sooner than expected, Emily has made amazing progress. Her prognosis is good and her parents hope she will someday be able to stop using any oxygen.

“If you didn’t know her medical history, you would never imagine that she has gone through what she has,” says Janita. “She’s just a normal nine-year-old girl.”

Read more about Emily.

Share your stories

Do you have thoughts to share about taking a sick child home from the hospital? What was your experience like? Do you have a child with respiratory or congenital problems?

We’d love to hear from you.

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