Respiratory Therapy

At St. Mary’s Home, a respiratory therapist works with children and young adults with breathing problems to help them breathe better. Breathing problems may be related, for example, to viruses, pneumonia and asthma. Our therapist evaluates individuals here who have breathing issues and talks to their doctors to develop a plan of care to treat respiratory illnesses. The therapist provides a variety of treatments, such as aerosol therapy, vest therapy (also known as high-frequency chest compression) to remove secretions from the lungs and use of a VitalCough System machine to stimulate cough.

In addition, the therapist maintains equipment, handles care of tracheostomy tubes and instructs staff and teaches families how to take care of their children who live at St. Mary’s who have breathing issues.