Joshua Gillman

Karen Schell

Mary Todd

Gene Gantt

Lori Babb Ligon

Joe Buhain

• Joshua Gillman recently sat for and passed the NBRC’s new Adult Critical Care Specialist exam, and this article in the Morning News out of Florence, SC, notes the accomplishment.

• Karen Schell explains how she and her colleagues helped Dr. Audrey Forson become a 2012 AARC International Fellow in this article in the Emporia, KS, Gazette. They got to know the physician after donating supplies to her clinic in Ghana, “We came back with the idea that we should bring her to the United States on this fellowship program,” Karen was quoted as saying.

• Mary Todd recalls the emotional day back in 2010 when a man who had been treated for a severe respiratory illness in her hospital came back for a visit in this article in the Evansville, IN, Courier Press. “It was just a great feeling to know that we had saved this man and he was recovering, and he looked great,” she was quoted as saying.

• The authors of this article on Vindy.com out of Youngstown, OH, turned to Gene Gantt to help shed some light on why a local nursing home would close a respiratory care program that will displace 14 patients. Gene explained the reimbursement issues involved, noting that, “...we’re starting to see some of the units closing in states where reimbursement is lower than the cost of care for these patients.”

• Lori Babb Ligon decided to share a picture she snapped of her hospital’s parking lot in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on a local news website. As you can see in this feature on MyVeronaNJ.com, no one was parking there that day!

• Anne-Marie Foster threw her support behind three candidates for state and federal office who she believed would stand up for health care issues facing people in her state in this letter to the editor in The Day out of Connecticut. “As a respiratory therapist and geriatric care manager, I have spent more than 35 years helping heal and advocate for patients and clients, often due to the inequalities of our insurance-driven health care system,” she wrote. “It has made me grateful when I meet legislators who strive to correct some of the unintended consequences of profit-driven, rather than people-driven, policies.”

• RT staff in Georgene Paulauski’s department decided to celebrate RC Week by raising funds to purchase 12 home nebulizers for use by clients of a local clinic that provides free primary care and other services to underprivileged residents. Their efforts were covered in this article on VALPOLIFE.com out of Valparaiso, IN.

• The president of Saint Paul College quoted Joe Buhain in this article on Veterans Day published by the Huffington Post. According to Joe, “Someone once asked me, ‘What can I do for a veteran?’ There are organizations you can volunteer with that help veterans. But if you can’t volunteer, when you meet a veteran all he or she might need is a simple ‘Thank you.’ This alone is sometimes enough.”

• Tim Howald joined a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon and pulmonologist at his facility to talk to the public about their hospital’s multi-specialty lung cancer team, and the event was announced in this article on TCPalm.com out of Florida.

• Jennifer Compton joined a local pulmonologist in speaking at a National COPD Awareness Month program in her community, and the event was announced in this article in the Champaign-Urbana, IL, News-Gazette. The “Breath of Life” event, which was supported by a local women’s group, also featured a question and answer session and some fun activities such as makeup lessons and mini-massages and mini-manicures for attendees.

• RT student Felicia Waters talks about the training she is receiving on intubations in this article in the Waterloo, IA, Courier. “Doctors do this, but we're also trained to do it,” she was quoted as saying.