Lung & Respiratory Services

at Community Hospital Long Beach

Breathing should be the easiest thing in the world – something you don't have to think about.

But if you're one of the 14 million Americans who suffers from a chronic respiratory disease, you know that breathing doesn't always come easily.

The Respiratory Services Department at Community Hospital Long Beach is comprised of 26 specially trained respiratory practitioners who work under a physician's order to provide a wide range of breathing treatments, as well as diagnose and care for adolescents and adults with numerous pulmonary disorders. At Community Hospital Long Beach, our respiratory practitioners work with some of the latest technologies available, including mechanical ventilators, cardiopulmonary monitoring, therapeutic respiratory treatments and diagnostic procedures. The department maintains 24/7 coverage, providing the highest quality of respiratory services to the community.

The respiratory care team also works closely with other departments to coordinate the care of patients with multi-system medical conditions. Care includes assessment, treatment, diagnostic evaluation, education, prevention and management of diseases of the lung such as asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis and pneumonia. Interventions may be as simple as a deep breathing exercise or as complex as invasive mechanical ventilation (life support). Respiratory practitioners at Community Hospital Long Beach are uniquely trained to treat conditions of the cardiopulmonary system and perform both diagnostics and therapeutic therapies.

Diagnostics and Therapeutic Therapies

• Measuring the capacity of a patient's lungs to determine if there is impaired function.
• Operating and maintaining highly sophisticated medical equipment to administer oxygen or to assist the patient with breathing.
• Using mechanical ventilation for treating patients who cannot breath on their own.
• Administering medications in aerosol form to alleviate breathing problems and to help prevent respiratory infections.
• Monitoring equipment and patient response to therapy.

The respiratory care team is actively engaged in the community, several members participate in the annual Bikers Against Diabetes ride to raise awareness about diabetes. The department also participates in the "Adopt a Family" program during the holidays to support a family with a child diagnosed with cancer at the Jonathan Jaques Children's Cancer Center at Miller Children's Hospital Long Beach.