Flaget Memorial Hospital earns Quality Respiratory Care Recognition - Archived

N E W S    R E L E A S E

 

For Immediate Release: March 19, 2012

For Information, Contact: 

Heather Mattingly, Respiratory Therapist                                  
Director, Cardiopulmonary Department
Flaget Memorial Hospital
502.350.5000

 

Sue Downs, M.S.N., C.E.N.P. 
President, Flaget Memorial Hospital
502.350.5000

 

Flaget Memorial Hospital earns Quality Respiratory Care Recognition from national program for third straight year 

Flaget Memorial Hospital, a part of KentuckyOne Health, has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals. 

“About 700 hospitals, or approximately 15 percent of hospitals nationwide, have applied for and received this award,” according to Flaget Respiratory Therapist Heather Mattingly, who serves as director of Flaget’s Cardiopulmonary Department. “This is the third year in a row that we have received the award.” 

The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals that meet the QRCR requirements ensure patient safety by providing a level of respiratory care consistent with strict national standards. 

“Respiratory therapists are health care professionals who provide a wide range of breathing treatments and other services to people with asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, emphysema, and other lung or lung-related conditions,” Mattingly said. “They also care for premature infants and are members of lifesaving rapid-response teams charged with handling medical emergencies.” 

All respiratory therapists employed by Flaget to deliver bedside respiratory care are either legally recognized by the state as competent to provide respiratory care or hold the certified respiratory therapist or registered respiratory therapist credential, according to Flaget President Sue Downs, M.S.N., C.E.N.P., F.A.C.H.E. 

“Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours a day at Flaget,” Downs said. “They are highly trained and work under a physician’s orders. They are absolutely vital members of our health care team.”

About KentuckyOne Health
KentuckyOne Health was formed when two major Kentucky health care organizations came together in early 2012. KentuckyOne Health combines the Jewish and Catholic heritages of the two former systems – Jewish Hospital & St. Mary’s HealthCare and Saint Joseph Health System. In late 2012, the organization formed a partnership with the University of Louisville Hospital | James Graham Brown Cancer Center.  The nonprofit system is committed to improving the health of Kentuckians by integrating medical research, education, technology and health care services wherever patients receive care. KentuckyOne Health has more than 200 locations including hospitals, physician groups, clinics, primary care centers, specialty institutes and home health agencies, with nearly 15,000 employees across the state of Kentucky and southern Indiana. KentuckyOne Health is the largest health system in Kentucky and has more than 2,700 licensed beds.

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