Ventilator Weaning & Pulmonary Care

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Ventilator Care Facilities

Unable to maintain spontaneous breathing, ventilator patients are at greater risk and require specialized care

Suffering from a brain, spinal cord or medically complex injury is challenging enough — but patients who are experiencing some level of respiratory failure and require ventilator care or tracheostomy care are faced with even greater obstacles. Ventilator care patients are not physiologically able to maintain spontaneous breathing.

The need for complex respiratory care and rehabilitation is often seen in patients with neuromuscular and central nervous system diseases. These include spinal cord injuries and other medically complex conditions such as stroke, brain injury, myocardial infarction and ALS .

Long-Term Ventilator Care

HealthBridge accepts patients that not only show potential for ventilator weaning, but those that may need long-term care placement. These patients are at greater risk of developing infections because their respiratory systems are already compromised. At HealthBridge, the chance of infection is significantly less due to expert airway care by our nurses and respiratory therapists.

The HealthBridge Difference

HealthBridge offers 24/7 respiratory therapy coverage under the oversight of a board-certified pulmonologist. Ventilator nursing care specialists are, of course, a vital part of our complex care and rehabilitation staffing mix that keeps our ventilator rehab facility patients comfortable and improving every day. Additionally, every care-providing HealthBridge staff member is trained in the proper administration and weaning of ventilator care. Staff competencies are reviewed regularly and additional training is provided when medical industry standards and ventilator technologies change. HealthBridge is accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and recognized for meeting the commission’s healthcare quality and safety standards.

Individualized Respiratory Care Plan

Beginning with a careful assessment of a patient’s respiratory function, a personalized ventilator care program is established and, once administered, staff is proactive in preventing many complications commonly associated with vent care, including infection. The HealthBridge team has been highly successful with weaning patients from ventilator support and oxygen therapy in our ventilator rehab facilities. The level of expertise and consistent physician involvement provides our patients with the maximum opportunity of comfort, removal of ventilator dependence, and ultimately their recovery.

HealthBridge…Where specialized care begins and hope never ends

Commonly Asked Questions

Pulmonary diseases are lung diseases that impact one’s ability to breathe effectively.

Ventilators may be used surgery in the acute care environment. In post-acute care, mechanical ventilators are used to enable patients to breathe better by allowing passage of air through the lungs. A mechanical ventilator is a machine that passes a tube through your mouth, down your throat into your windpipes.

A ventilator is used in a long-term care facility when a patient is in acute respiratory distress. When the danger has subsided, a patient can be weaned (liberated from the ventilator).

For effective ventilator weaning, a patient will require extensive physical and respiratory therapy and rehab. This can be a long and tedious process and require intermittent periods of maintenance by placing the patient back on the ventilator. By the time a patient is placed on a ventilator, his/her lungs are severely compromised so recovery with rehabilitation can take months.

An estimated 20 percent of ventilator weaning efforts fail for a variety of reasons including: increased resistance from the lungs, or other medical complexities mostly related to to cardiac and neurological functions.

It varies. It could take weeks or longer, depending on the extent of the patient’s compromised airways.

RESPIRATORY/PULMONARY DISEASE STATISTICS

  • Respiratory disease is one of the leading causes of death in America, following heart disease, cancer and accidents.
  • Globally, 4 million people die prematurely from chronic respiratory disease.
  • The 8 most common types of respiratory disease are: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), bronchitis, lung cancer, tuberculosis, cystic fibrosis, emphysema and pneumonia.