Respiratory Services at Grant Regional Health Center

How well your pulmonary system functions and the quality of sleep you are getting has a huge impact on your overall quality of life. If the way you breathe and sleep is interfering with the way you want to live your life, Grant Regional Health Center has a specialized team of Respiratory Therapists to help you achieve better health. Our Respiratory Therapists work alongside your other trusted medical providers to help diagnose lung and breathing disorders and recommend treatment methods.

Home Sleep Tests

While it may be noticeable if you are having breathing difficulties while awake, sometimes it can be more difficult to diagnose sleep breathing issues. Home Sleep Tests (HST’s), also known as Home Sleep Studies, are one method of determining whether you have a sleep disorder. These tests are often conducted when Sleep Apnea is suspected. Common signs of sleep apnea can include being told that you are snoring, snorting, or gasping in your sleep; or you may notice that you have disruptive sleep and are fatigued during the day.

Home sleep tests are conducted in the comfort of the patient’s own home. A small monitor will be attached to a chest belt, as well as placement of a nasal cannula and a pulse oximeter. Once you have your next appointment, the data recorded from these devices is downloaded, analyzed, and reviewed by a sleep physician.

Pulmonary Function Test

Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT’s) are tests that are ordered to see how well your lungs are functioning. These tests are conducted when you may have a disorder that is obstructing or restricting the function of your lungs and measure factors such as: lung volume, capacity, rates of flow, and gas exchange.

Common reasons that a PFT may be recommended include allergies, respiratory infections, trouble breathing from injury to chest or recent surgery, chronic lung conditions (such as asthma, bronchiectasis, emphysema, chronic bronchitis), Asbestosis, restrictive airway problems, Sarcoidosis, Scleroderma, or as a preparation for surgery. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some patients find themselves in need of a PFT in relation to long-term effects from COVID.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a comprehensive program which includes a medically supervised schedule of exercise and personal counseling. This service is designed to meet the growing need for comprehensive care for patients experiencing pulmonary disease and disabilities. Our staff strives to educate and recondition patients to an optimal level of physiological and psychological well-being and self-confidence. We stress the importance of self-awareness and self-responsibility while providing the patient with the most recent information in the areas of exercise conditioning, nutrition and respiratory therapy techniques.

Program Goals:

• Increase patient knowledge about their Pulmonary disease and how to manage it
• Reduce respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and fatigue
• Enhance ability to perform daily living tasks
• Decrease healthcare costs by reducing the need for inpatient hospital stays and the length of hospital stays

Some potential participants may suffer from:

• Chronic Bronchitis, Emphysema, Asthma, Bronchiectasis or Cystic Fibrosis
• Pulmonary Fibrosis, Sarcoidosis, Interstitial Lung Disease, or Pneumonia, Silicosis
• Lung cancer, pulmonary hypertension, or pre/post lung surgery

To begin this program, a referral is necessary. Our program is designed to allow the referring provider to follow the progress of his or her patient throughout the program. You do not need to be a patient of Grant Regional for your provider to refer you to our Pulmonary Rehab program.

An initial evaluation is conducted to determine each patient’s level and current status of fitness. The patient will also complete a medical history questionnaire, lifestyle assessment, and nutritional consult.

Program Participation:
An individualized exercise and rehabilitation program is developed according to specific goals outlined in
the evaluation stage. The program usually consists of 16-36 monitored one-hour sessions. These sessions include aerobic training, recumbent stepping, treadmill walking and cycling.

Phase II: Sessions 1-36
Phase III: Sessions 36+

Classes are supervised by Grant Regional Health Center’s Respiratory Therapists and other Pulmonary Rehab staff. After completion of the exercise and conditioning program, the participant will be re-evaluated in order to document progress and readjust goals to encourage a lifetime of commitment to health and fitness.