The Respiratory Therapy Program in the College of Health Professions has been recognized with the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC).

To receive the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award, programs submit reports detailing credentialing rates and other highlights. Award honorees are required to have credentialing success rate of more than 90 percent.

The award is presented as part of CoARC’s efforts to value the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential as a standard of professional achievement. The award is in addition to the Upstate program’s CoARC accreditation, which runs through 2025.

This is the fifth time the Respiratory Therapy Program has received the honor.

“This is an important honor for the College of Health Professions’ Respiratory Therapy Program,” said the college’s dean, Katherine Beissner, PT, PhD. “Our outstanding faculty ensure that our students are well prepared for their profession. This honor is a testament to the efforts of our faculty and students.”

Stephen Feikes, MS. RT, RTT, serves as program director; Sierra Coyle, MS, RT, RTT, is the program’s director of clinical education.

The role of the registered respiratory therapists (RRT) has been in the spotlight recently as they have played a critical role in the care of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. Many severely ill COVID-19 patients are put on ventilators to help them breathe, requiring the assistance of a respiratory therapist whose role it is to operate the ventilator and assess a patients’ oxygen levels, lung function, among other responsibilities.

Upstate offers a bachelor’s degree in respiratory therapy. The 21-month program prepares the student for entry-level as well as advanced level practice. Upstate provides a high-quality education through valuable experiences and opportunities through our expert faculty, state-of-the-art equipment and classrooms, and excellent clinical experience through our many exceptional clinical affiliates. More information on Upstate’s respiratory program is available here.

 

Caption: Stephen Feikes, MS. RT, RTT, serves as program director of the Respiratory Therapy Program in the College of Health Professions. The program was recently honored for the credentially success of its students. Above, Feikes introduces the profession to Syracuse City School District students attending a health care careers program at Upstate this summer.