Respiratory & Pulmonary Care

What’s a Respiratory Therapist?

Our respiratory therapists are certified, knowledgeable health professionals who evaluate, treat, and care for you if you have a breathing problem. Your respiratory therapist at UNC Health Rockingham will work with your doctors to provide the best possible treatment for your condition.

Conditions We Treat

Turn to your respiratory team for the care of:

• Asthma
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
• Pulmonary fibrosis
• Shortness of breath
• Pneumonia
• Respiratory failure
• Respiratory infections and viruses

Lung Services

Find a wide range of diagnostic tests and treatments for lung and breathing conditions.

Diagnostic Tests

• Arterial blood gases
• Electrocardiogram (EKG)
• Pulse oximetry – Measures the oxygen level of your blood

Treatments

• Bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) – Provides different levels of air pressure during inhalation and exhalation to help you breathe easier
• Bronchodilator therapy – Uses medication to open your airway and make breathing easier
• Chest physiotherapy – Helps drain mucus from your lungs
• Mechanical ventilation management (life support) -Helps you breathe if you are unable to do so due to a critical injury or illness
• Oxygen therapy - reduces the work required to breathe if you have a respiratory condition

High Flow Oxygen Therapy

If you have COPD and other severe lung conditions that make it hard for you to breath, you may receive heated high flow oxygen therapy in the hospital. This type of respiratory support delivers warm, humidified air through your nose to help you breathe and may be used in acute respiratory failure if you are critically ill and need respiratory support