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61 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend January 2, 2004 Corinna Scheibler (left), a respiratory therapist at Rogue Valley Medical Center, watches while Luella Roarke of Medford performs a breathing exercise. Scheibler is a graduate of the respiratory therapy program at Rogue Community College. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Respiratory therapy program saved By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune Southern Oregon hospitals and nursing homes will breathe a little easier in the new year, knowing that a local program to train respiratory therapists has been revived. For years, Rogue Community College’s respiratory therapy program turned out graduates who found well-paying jobs in the Rogue Valley, but the program was terminated last year when the state cut funding for higher education. RCC’s program has been resuscitated with support from Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. Students will attend classes on the RCC campus in Medford and use RCC’s equipment, but they will be enrolled as OIT students and pay OIT tuition. "It would have been such a loss," said Jim Hulse of Ashland, the program coordinator. "All the equipment would have been lost. Our accreditation would have been lost. To bring that all back up from nothing would have been hard." In the simplest sense, "RTs" help sick people breathe, but their work requires a thorough knowledge of chemistry and anatomy, as well as mastery of sophisticated equipment that assists the natural breathing process. Advertisement About 100 RTs work in Jackson County in hospitals, nursing homes, and care centers. They typically earn $38,000 to $40,000 per year as a starting salary, and as much as $50,000 with overtime and shift differentials. If RCC had left the field, there would have been just two remaining training centers in Oregon — at community colleges in Eugene and Portland. Without a local training program, hospitals here would have faced tough competition to recruit new therapists, said Ginny Friesen, director of critical care at Providence Medford Medical Center. "Many people who have gone into respiratory therapy already have ties here," Friesen said. "They’re people who want to stay here. For people moving from a city, it’s much harder for them to uproot their families." Hulse approached OIT about a partnership when it was clear that RCC could no longer support the program alone. OIT’s higher tuition rate ($93 per credit hour, compared to RCC’s $59) will provide enough income to fund the program’s annual budget, which was about $185,000 at RCC. OIT also will expand the program, to serve about 25 students per year — about twice as many as RCC could teach. "OIT’s tuition is just a lot higher," said Al Bello, OIT’s assistant provost. "The program will sustain itself on higher tuition." Bello said the respiratory therapy program fit well with OIT’s other medical training classes. He noted that OIT has taken more responsibility for career training in fields such as radiation technology, dental hygiene, and medical imaging since Oregon Health & Science University shifted its focus to medical research and training for doctors and nurses. With OIT’s participation, the program will be expanded to allow students to earn a four-year degree. There will be a year of prerequisites, two years of technical classes to earn a two-year degree, and a fourth year of distance learning. Students will be able to work with a two-year degree. Four-year degrees in respiratory therapy are common in the eastern United States, but the new OIT/RCC program is just the second baccalaureate program to be established in the West during the past 20 years. "It’s exciting because we’re joining the Oregon university system," Hulse said. "Respiratory care is advancing to the university level of education." Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] For more information about respiratory therapy, contact Jim Hulse via e-mail at:[email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities