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Hospital receives national recognition
Special to the Avalanche Big Bend Regional Medical Center has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals. About 700, or approximately 15 percent, of hospitals in the United States have applied for and received this award. This is the second year Big Bend Regional has earned this honor. The QRCR program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to criteria governing respiratory care services. To qualify for the recognition, Big Bend Regional provided documentation showing it meets the following conditions: € All respiratory therapists employed by the hospital to deliver bedside respiratory care services are either legally recognized by the state as competent to provide respiratory care services or hold the CRT or RRT credential. € Respiratory therapists are available 24 hours. € Other personnel qualified to perform specific respiratory procedures and the amount of supervision required for personnel to carry out specific procedures must be designated in writing. € A doctor of medicine or osteopathy is designated as medical director of respiratory care. The QRCR program grew out of growing concerns among health care leaders and the general public regarding the safety and quality of health care services provided to patients. Hospitals that meet the QRCR requirements provide a level of respiratory care consistent with national standards and guidelines, and should be commended for their commitment to quality care. A list of QRCR hospitals is on the website YourLungHealth.org. Respiratory therapists are specially trained health care professionals who work under a physician's orders to provide a wide range of breathing treatments and other services to people with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, lung cancer, AIDS and other lung or lung-related conditions. They also care for premature infants and are key members of lifesaving response teams charged with handling medical emergencies. W. Texas CASA volunteers sworn West Texas children in foster care who have been abused or neglected now have three more people to speak out on their behalf. The Brewster County Historical Commission will meet at 3 p.m. today in the county commissioners courtroom to review rules and statutes, hear reports on various programs and projects, and plan field trips. The meeting is open to the public. An endowment established by Trisha Pollard, the Sul Ross local committee chair of the Board of Regents of the Texas State University System, will offer additional scholarship opportunities for first-generation students at Sul Ross State University. Beard resigns water district post; Davidson presides over session as acting chairman New definitions and proposed rule changes took up most of the Brewster County Groundwater Conservation District's meeting Tuesday, headed by Mike Davidson, acting as board chairman in the wake of Tom Beard's resignation. Hospital receives national recognition Special to the Avalanche Ortega is 22nd in family to get Sul Ross degree As a little girl, Camila Ortega visited family in Alpine and played on the Sul Ross State University campus. CDRI offers nature journaling workshop Special to the Avalanche Plan would lift gun ban Land management workshop scheduled in June For more than a century, rural Texas land has been owned mainly by farm and ranch families who lived on it. In recent decades, the countryside has been fragmented into smaller tracts owned increasingly by former urban dwellers or absentee owners. Alpine High welders are certified Special to the Avalanche Special to the Avalanche Two Alpine High School students are giving up most of their summer to prepare for college. Jessica Villanueva and Stephen Sandoval have been chosen to participate in the Upward Bound Math and Science program at the University of Texas at Arlington. In addition to class work and SAT or ACT preparation, they will be touring colleges. Brewster County sheriff's blotter Calls: 86 The following persons were arrested in Alpine during the period May 5-11. Appearance in this listing means subjects have been charged with the listed offense. Inclusion does not imply the person is guilty of a crime. District Court, Civil Docket |
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