Respiratory Care

Respiratory Therapist Technicians
Shown here is a close up of a nasal cannula used to deliver oxygen to a medical patient. Behind in soft focus is an oxygen concentrator with a flowmeter.

The Respiratory Care Department at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center is a 24-hour a day division of the hospital comprised of NYS licensed respiratory therapists. The help of a respiratory therapist and respiratory therapist technician at our facility in New York can ultimately restore your quality of life.

Respiratory therapists are essential members of the multidisciplinary healthcare team who work in collaboration with our physicians and nurses to provide compassionate, high-quality care to all areas of the hospital – both inpatient and outpatient – and to all neonatal, pediatric, adult and geriatric populations.

Inpatient Services Include:

Airway management: including endotracheal intubation and tracheal tube replacement
Initiation and management of all patients receiving invasive and non-invasive mechanical ventilation
Application of a comprehensive ventilator weaning program for all adult patients
Advanced modalities such as high frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) and nitric oxide administration for our neonates
Aerosol medication and oxygen therapies
Patient education
Diagnostic procedures: sputum induction, bedside spirometry, arterial punctures, bronchoscopy assistance
Operation of a blood gas laboratory which is fully accredited by the College of American Pathologists (CAP), overseen by a technical director with medical direction provided by a board-certified pathologist. Tests include ph/blood gas, co-oximetry, and electrolyte analysis.

Outpatient Services Provided by Our Respiratory Therapist Technicians Include:

Bronchospasmic evaluation: spirometry pre/post bronchodilator
Bronchial provocation via methacholine or cold air challenge
Thoracic gas volumes via nitrogen washout
Pulmonary diffusion capacity
Simple pulmonary stress test: 6-minute walk and exercise testing
Pulmonary stress test complex
Pulse oximetry – at rest and at exercise
Arterial blood gas/co-oximetry/electrolyte analysis
Pulmonary rehabilitation (funding dependent)
Tobacco cessation counseling
Participate in research protocols
Participation in the chest, asthma, and sleep disorders clinics
Bronchoscopy* assistance: diagnostic, biopsies, transbronchial, pulmonary stents

You can expect to receive quality care from any therapist and respiratory therapist technician at our facility. If your physician has ordered for you to undergo pulmonary function testing and you would like your test to be performed by a highly professional and compassionate individual, please call to make an appointment at 718-206-7126 Monday thru Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.