LIMA, Ohio (WLIO) - When in the hospital, a patient's vitals are monitored to make sure that everything else is working fine while they're being treated. Of course this includes their breathing, and a respiratory therapist can help if a patient is having trouble.
Jason Lamb is a respiratory therapist with Mercy Health-St. Rita's, helping making sure that patients are breathing properly, as he says the respiratory system ties back to a patient's overall health.
"Imagine yourself in a pool - when you jump down in the pool and there's something at the bottom of the pool, and you're like, 'I'm gonna go get that', and as you're coming up, your brain starts telling you, 'Oh, I gotta get up, up, get up', and this is a lot of what our patients feel," said Lamb. "They feel that shortness of breath, and it really makes them scared. A lot of things I do can help them breathe a lot better, ease that anxiety, and make their day better."
A respiratory therapist may work with a ventilator, which moves air in and out of a patient's lungs, and displays the state of the lungs and the patient's breathing. Lamb adds that because the respiratory system is so central to a patient's wellbeing, he works with many different departments in the hospital.
"It's kind of like Cheers, where everybody knows your name," said Lamb. "I go down and see ER, like the radiology department, the Cath lab department."
To become a respiratory therapist, one can earn an associate's or bachelor's degree in respiratory therapy, depending on the school. St. Rita's also offers those who are thinking about a job in healthcare to shadow professionals on the job.
"A lot of us come out of high school not knowing what we really want to do, so come explore the hospital in a safe environment and see what everybody's doing - so many different aspects, physicians, maybe decide when to go to medical school and become a physician or respiratory therapist, or see nursing, which has an incredible footprint here in the hospital," said Lamb. "I really encourage them to come see what we do."
In West Central Ohio, there are several respiratory therapy programs, including:
