Outpatient Pulmonary RRT

Outpatient Pulmonary Services

Full Time

Day Shift

0730-1600

Lexington Health is a comprehensive network of care that includes six community medical and urgent care centers, nearly 80 physician practices, more than 9,000 health care professionals and Lexington Medical Center, a 607-bed teaching hospital in West Columbia, South Carolina. It was selected by Modern Healthcare as one of the Best Places to Work in Healthcare and was first in the state to achieve Magnet with Distinction status for excellence in nursing care. Consistently ranked as best in the Columbia Metro area by U.S. News & World Report, Lexington Health delivers more than 4,000 babies each year, performs more than 34,000 surgeries annually and is the regions third largest employer.

Lexington Health also includes an accredited Cancer Center of Excellence, the state's first HeartCARE Center, the largest skilled nursing facility in the Carolinas, and an Alzheimer's care center. Its postgraduate medical education programs include family medicine and transitional year residencies, as well as an informatics fellowship.

Job Summary

Performs duties within the scope of respiratory care, to include but not limited to, diagnostic studies within Outpatient Services and Pulmonary Rehab to include patient assessment, planning, intervention, follow-up, evaluation and discharge planning.

Minimum Qualifications

Minimum Education: 2 Year Associates Degree (AMA accredited program for Respiratory Care and registered through the National Board for Respiratory Care)

Minimum Years of Experience: None

Substitutable Education & Experience (Optional): Associates Degree may be substituted for active RRT credential through National Board for Respiratory Care, active license through SC LLR, and 10 years of direct experience as a Respiratory Therapist.

Required Certifications/Licensure: Licensed by the Board of Medical Examiners for the State of South Carolina (biennial renewal required);

Infant/Child and Adult Basic Life Support (BLS) Certified - ACLS for Pulmonary Rehab, Pulmonary Lab. (Within six months or first available class).

Required Training: None

Essential Functions

• Demonstrates competence to provide developmentally appropriate care/treatment for the following patient populations (vary by area):

• Infant (Birth to 1 year)

• Child (1 year through 12 years)

• Adolescent (13 years through 17 years)

• Adult (18 years to 65 years)

• Geriatric (over 65 years).

• Supervises clinical exercise programs using a variety of tools including telemetry, BP, pulse oximetry, dyspnea scale, and perceived exertion.

• Document participants medical history, individualized treatment plan (ITP), responses to treatment, progress and complications for the individual patient.

• Works towards enhancing the patients functional level and lowering the risk for future events as well as a better understanding of disease process.

• Provides individualized counseling and education to outpatients and family members to meet identified needs. Teach group education classes as a part of outpatient pulmonary rehab program. Assist in the development and revision of education materials.

• Assists the Respiratory Patient Care Navigator with inpatients that may require additional assistance with ambulation, and if referral received to Outpatient Pulmonary Rehab

• Performs routine therapy, administers medication, follow protocols. Administers specialty gases.

• Assesses patients in accordance with clinical practice guidelines and makes recommendations to physician for the most appropriate therapy.

• Interprets prescriptions and/or confers with physician to determine requirements for therapy. Accepts verbal respiratory care orders from physician.

• Makes adjustments using clinical decision-making skills based on response from treatments.

• Performs arterial punctures to obtain blood gas samples in outpatient lab. Analyzes samples on blood gas systems and interprets results. Performs routine daily preventive maintenance and QC.

• Performs diagnostic procedures, interprets results and makes recommendations based on set criteria (Example: pulse oximetry, bedside spirometry, flow studies, and peak flows).

Duties & Responsibilities

• Demonstrates proficiency in assessment and management of the critical care patient. Knowledge of ventilator modalities and their operation while performing Indirect Calorimetry.
• Responds to Emergency Codes and Alerts as medically necessary; performs cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.
• Documents all patient-care related activities in medical record.
• Assists with patient/family education as pertinent to Respiratory Care and documents progress, including patient evaluation, orientation, and follow-up.
• Utilizes, maintains, calibrates and troubleshoots all equipment to ensure proper function.
• Assists in orientation of new personnel, serves as clinical instructor for students, and supervises necessary programs.
• Identifies opportunities for improvement, participates and contributes to the departmental and organizational CQI process.
• Therapists with specialized training may be assigned additional responsibilities upon certification or validation of skills.
• Performs pulmonary function test, indirect calorimetry, cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) and performs arterial blood gas testing. Assists with maintaining and troubleshooting all systems.
• Assists with QA data collection and generating reports every other month. Completes all required paperwork as necessary.
• Depending on needs of department, will participate for multidisciplinary rehabilitation staff meetings.
• Performs all other duties as assigned.

We are committed to offering quality, cost-effective benefits choices for our benefit eligible employees and their families:

• Day ONE medical, dental and life insurance benefits
• Health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts (FSAs)
• Employees are eligible for enrollment into the 403(b) match plan day one. LHI matches dollar for dollar up to 6%.
• Employer paid life insurance - equal to 1x salary
• Employee may elect supplemental life insurance with low cost premiums up to 3x salary
• Adoption assistance
• LHI provides its full-time employees employer paid short-term disability and long-term disability coverage after 90 days of eligible employment
• Tuition reimbursement
• Student loan forgiveness

Equal Opportunity Employer

It is the policy of Lexington Health to provide equal opportunity of employment for all individuals, and to remain compliant with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. Lexington Health strives to provide a discrimination-free environment, and to recruit, select, on-board, and employ all employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, national origin, veteran status, or pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, including but not limited to, lactation. Lexington Health endeavors to upgrade and promote employees from within the hospital where possible and consistent with the employee's desires and abilities and the hospital's needs.