As part of its ongoing mission to provide high quality, sub-acute care to adults and seniors in the South Florida community, Plaza Health Network has launched an advanced, inpatient respiratory care program that provides treatment, rehabilitation and education to patients with complex respiratory conditions. The program is available at Arch Plaza, located in North Miami, and will continue to roll out at the other six Plaza Health Network centers throughout Miami-Dade County over the course of 2018.
Patients with complex respiratory conditions -such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, lung disease and those who are ventilator or tracheostomy dependent- are cared for by respiratory therapists who coordinate with nursing and rehabilitation staff to provide enhanced and advanced pulmonary care. The team is also focused on the patient’s continual care once they have transitioned from skilled nursing center to home by teaching them the necessary skills that would enable them to function independently, and avoid unnecessary hospital readmissions.
The interdisciplinary respiratory care team at Arch Plaza, where this program first launched, includes pulmonologists, respiratory therapists, nurses with specialized training in ventilator and tracheostomy care, physical, occupational and speech therapists, nutritionists, social workers and care managers.
The program is in the process of assisting patients that have entered Arch Plaza on a ventilator and have moved down to a tracheostomy. From there, the nursing and rehab staff have been able to assist patients in successfully eating, speaking and breathing on their own again before being discharged to their homes.
