The Respiratory Therapy Department is responsible for an assortment of diagnostic and treatment procedures. On a daily basis they perform everything from breathing retraining to CPR. The Respiratory Therapists at DeSoto Regional are all certified in Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and CPR. The Respiratory Therapy Department operates seven days a week from 6am to 7pm with a therapist on-call at night. Some of the diagnostic procedures offered through the Respiratory Therapy Department are; Electrocardiograms (ECG/EKG), Pulmonary Function Testing (PFT), Arterial Blood Gases (ABG), 24 and 48 Hour Holter Monitoring, and Sleep Studies. All of these services are available on an out-patient or in-patient basis.
Treatment procedures offered include; Oxygen Therapy, Hand Held Nebulizers (HHN), Chest Physiotherapy (CPT), Incentive Spirometry (IS), Mechanical Ventilation, Metered Dose Inhalers, Bi-level Positive Airway Pressure (BIPAP), and Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).
The Respiratory Therapy Department also assists other departments in such things as: Qualifying patients for home oxygen therapy, Smoking Cessation, and Patient Education.
The Respiratory Therapy Department has three full time therapists; Amanda Alsobrook,CRT- Director with over 30 years of experience, Lynn Martin, CRT with over 13 years of experience, and Starla Calhoun, CRT with over 5 years of experience. We also have an experienced Per Diem Staff.