Business North – Around The Region – Duluth & Superior Newspaper
Essentia Health-Virginia Pulmonary Class recognized
| 12/24/2014 | |
PHOTO: Essentia Health Certified Respiratory Therapist Deb Lekatz and Lois Gunderson, a Virginia resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Essentia Health-Virginia is being recognized for a pulmonary rehabilitation program that has been improving the quality of life for Iron Rangers for nearly three decades.
The Pulmonary Rehab Program has achieved re-certification by the American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR.)
“To maintain this distinction, we are required to extensively document how we care for our patients within the program,” says Dan Milbridge, Essentia Health-Virginia administrator. “Then the association reviews each program individually. It’s the only peer-review accreditation process that does this, so it’s a rare and coveted distinction.”
Essentia Health-Virginia first was certified by the AACVPR in 2007 and has worked hard to maintain its accreditation. Certification is valid for three years.
Participants in the pulmonary rehabilitation program come to Essentia Health-Virginia twice a week for an hour of exercise and then an hour of classroom instruction. About 25 people graduate from the program each year. Many are like Lois Gunderson, a Virginia resident with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
“I used to avoid doing things I enjoyed, like taking long walks at the cabin, even laughing with friends, because I didn’t know how that exertion would affect me,” Gunderson says. “The classes taught me to recognize when I’m getting winded and when to use my medications I became stronger in the process.”
Classes are small in size, normally five or six people. Participants may have COPD, emphysema or cystic fibrosis. Anybody with a pulmonary function test that meets the criteria can attend the class, and the cost is usually covered by Medicare and most private insurance companies. Participants can enter the program at any time.
“This class changes people’s lives for the better,” says Heather Parenteau, a registered clinical exercise physiologist with Essentia Health-Virginia. “The exercise helps build their immune system. And they create an action plan for not only their day-to-day life, but also prepare for unexpected or emergency situations, for when they may have to change medications, or vary from their routine. This program gives our patients freedom to live.”
“I’m able to do simple things like meet my friends and have a good laugh, or larger things like traveling to Boston to visit family. Before I was too afraid. I didn’t want to be a burden on anyone,” Lois adds. “Now, I have things I look forward to doing and people I look forward to seeing, thanks to this class.”
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