Professionally reviewed by Keith Snyder, LRCP, Network Director of Respiratory Services, on 07/05/2023.
Good Shepherd’s team of respiratory therapy experts work to help adults and children reduce symptoms of chronic lung disease through customized exercise programs. These programs are designed to improve lung function, reduce symptom severity and improve quality of life.
Care for people with serious health problems associated with their lungs and ability to breathe. The respiratory care team at Good Shepherd is always ready to respond to a variety of emergency situations such as an asthma attack.
What is Respiratory Therapy?
Respiratory therapy is an allied health discipline concerned with providing care, testing and treatments to support and improve pulmonary performance. A respiratory therapist is a licensed and trained health-care professional who treats patients who have breathing problems or other lung disorders.
What Conditions Does Respiratory Therapy Treat?
The practice of respiratory therapy includes testing and treatment for a wide variety of conditions, from asthma treatments to mechanical ventilation. Our respiratory therapists see patients from birth to old age, delivering care designed to improve and even preserve life.
Whether caring for a premature infant with a tracheostomy tube or supporting an adult with COPD to maximize their ability to benefit from other therapies, respiratory is an integral part of the care team.
Respiratory Therapy Care Team
Respiratory therapists work with physicians to design a plan of care to maximize respiratory function in our patients. This plan can include testing, monitoring, medications and support devices such as ventilators and BiPAP machines to manage issues preventing proper breathing.
We meet with nursing and therapy to discuss goals and educate patients and their families to achieve positive outcomes.
Pediatric Respiratory Therapy
The respiratory therapists at the Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital Emily Howatt Pliskatt Pediatric Unit work with children from birth to age 18 with a range of respiratory needs.
Good Shepherd Pediatrics treats young children with complications of premature birth and other congenital conditions. These children often have a tracheostomy tube, an airway surgically inserted in their neck, and use a mechanical ventilator to provide some or all of their breathing.
Our inpatient pediatric hospital also treats young people with traumatic injuries, especially to the brain and spine, to assist them in getting their required oxygen and meeting other pulmonary needs.
Respiratory Therapy in the Inpatient Setting
The Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital in Allentown treats patients with specialized needs for physical, occupational and speech therapy, as well as daily nursing and physician care.
The respiratory team provides care for these patients designed to maximize their exercise tolerance, promote speech and swallowing function, treat sleep apnea and contribute to the overall health and recovery of these patients. We provide care ranging from nebulizer treatments to mechanical ventilation. We are one of very few rehabilitation hospitals able to evaluate and care for patients benefiting from diaphragm pacing therapy.
Respiratory Therapy in the Long-Term Acute Care Setting
The Good Shepherd Specialty Hospital is our long-term acute care hospital. Long-term acute care hospitals specialize in weaning patients from mechanical ventilation.
We receive our patients from other hospitals, both local and around the country, who have been unable to wean off the breathing machine. Our team of respiratory therapists, pulmonary providers and nurses work around the clock to help patients strengthen breathing muscles and improve lung function to get them breathing on their own.
Respiratory Therapy Locations
Good Shepherd Rehabilitation offers respiratory therapy in the inpatient (adult and pediatrics) and long-term acute care settings.
- Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital
- Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital Emily Howatt Pliskatt Pediatric Unit
- Good Shepherd Specialty Hospital
Contact Us To Get Started Today
If you would like more information about respiratory therapy at Good Shepherd, or if you’d like to tour one of our facilities, please call 1.888.44.REHAB (73422) or fill out the form below.
"*" indicates required fields