The Mission and History of Respiratory Care Week

Mission of Respiratory Care Week

• Honor and thank respiratory care professionals for their contributions
• Demonstrate the value of respiratory care professionals in all healthcare settings
• Promote respiratory health in the workplace and the community
• Increase awareness of lung health issues in all environments
• Educate and encourage prospective students about career opportunities and growth of the profession

History of Respiratory Care Week

Although it had already been an annual local and regional event throughout the country for several years, National Respiratory Therapy Week truly became an official national event in 1982 when executives and officers of the American Association for Respiratory Therapy (AART) visited the White House (see story below).

Reagan proclaims National RT Week
(Headline from AARC Times, December 1982)

National Respiratory Therapy Week, Nov. 7–13, has come and gone, and with it many local and statewide activities in celebration of that fact.

On a national scale, however, the most noteworthy activity preceded National RT Week, and was in fact an official recognition of RT Week by President Ronald Reagan. Attending the meeting in the Oval Office were 1982 and 1983 AART Presidents John Walton and Glen Gee and Executive Director Sam Giordano, along with RT Dean Sterling from Washington, DC. Two children afflicted with respiratory ailments accompanied the group—seven-year-old Casey Gee, Glen Gee’s asthmatic son, and five-year-old John Magbie, a youngster in the care of Sterling and other RTs at Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Young Magbie has been paralyzed from the neck down since he fractured a vertebra in a school bus accident in 1981. A mechanical ventilator is housed beneath the seat of his wheelchair.

The trip to the White House marked an historic event for the AART and the declaration of National Respiratory Therapy Week is a statement that respiratory therapy practitioners are making an important contribution to the delivery of quality health care in the nation.

In 1986, AART became the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) and RT Week became National Respiratory Care Week—now better known as RC Week. Since then, the national event in honor of respiratory care professionals has steadily grown to reach all 50 states in the U.S. and beyond.

And in 2003, lung health awareness was escalated even further with the establishment of Lung Health Day, celebrated during Respiratory Care Week. Today, RC Week and Lung Health Day are delivering the message to medical professionals and consumers around the world.

Lung Health Day

Lung Health Day is a major public awareness campaign sponsored by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC). Its purpose is to promote the importance of lung health and build awareness about diseases and conditions that adversely affect healthy lungs.

This major campaign was kicked off to great success in 2003 and coincides with Respiratory Care Week. When making plans for RC Week, mark your calendar for Wednesday of that week to plan special events that reach out to neighbors, family, friends, businesses and community leaders to teach them what it takes to maintain strong lung health. Bronchodilators help relax airway muscles to improve breathing for asthma or COPD. Examples include albuterol (ProAir HFA, Ventolin HFA) and salmeterol (Serevent Diskus). They're available in different forms, including tablets, inhalers, nebulizer solution, and syrup.