Respiratory Therapy Program Receives Award
Posted on 8/3/2009
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The St. Alexius Medical Center/University of Mary Respiratory Therapy Program received the Committee on Accreditation for Respiratory Care’s “Excellence in Education” award July 16, 2009 at the American Association for Respiratory Care’s summer meeting in Marco Island, Florida.
The award was based on graduates exceeding 90 percent credentialing success, which placed the program in the top 2.5 percent of all programs in the country, or in the top 10 of 400 respiratory therapy programs in the United States.
“We are proud to have been among the respiratory therapy programs earning this distinction,” says Dr. Will Beachey, director of the program. “It is a huge tribute to my colleagues, Christine Sperle, Elizabeth Hughes, Dr. James Hughes, our medical director, and the St. Alexius respiratory therapy staff serving as clinical preceptors for our students.” The Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential is granted by the National Board for Respiratory Care after qualified applicants pass a battery of three difficult examinations; the national RRT credentialing rate for first time test takes is less than 60 percent.
The respiratory therapy program at the University of Mary is one of 44 Bachelor of Science respiratory therapy programs in the United States. A two-year, pre-professional curriculm emphasizing the biological sciences is completed on the University of Mary campus, followed by a two-year professional program completed at St. Alexius Medical Center. The professional program is co-sponsored by St. Alexius and the University of Mary.