The first BREATHE-SD respiratory care program students recently began classes for their professional year at three Northern Plains Health Network (NPHN) affiliate hospitals: Huron Regional Medical Center (HRMC), Madison Regional Health System and Brookings Health System. The program is part of a $1.5 million Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) grant received by the NPHN affiliates in partnership with South Dakota State University (SDSU).
Respiratory care is a high-need clinical care profession, especially in rural areas. The BREATHE-SD program aims to bring respiratory therapy education and public health opportunities to rural health facilities and the communities they serve. Students enrolled in the program attend their first two semesters on SDSU’s campus, completing pre-requisites. Students spend the second program year on-site at the NPHN affiliate hospitals. During that time, they attend lectures, participate in lab and complete clinical rotations while working with actual patients as overseen by their clinical instructor or another licensed respiratory therapist.
Respiratory care students Jake Odegard, Jaida Klanchnik, Austyn Van Zee, Jenna Eischens and Isabel Roth will complete their professional year at Madison Regional and Brookings Health. Anna Tebay and Zoe Martin are the first BREATHE-SD students in the program in Huron. Both Tebay and Martin are natives of Huron and are excited at the opportunity to complete their professional training in their hometown. “I jumped at the opportunity when I heard the BREATHE-SD program was open to new students,” said Tebay. “I’m excited to get into training and on to a career.”
SDSU clinical instructors for the program are Jessica Winterboer, RRT, RPST, who will teach in Brookings and Madison, and Ranae Phinney, RRT, RPST, who will teach in Huron. “Throughout the summer, we feature an introduction to respiratory care in general with lecture, lab and clinicals,” said Phinney. “Once we get into our fall and spring semester, the students will have some opportunities to learn about respiratory care in additional settings such as in a clinic, sleep lab, pulmonary rehab, home medical and more. Students will have a variety of opportunities in their clinicals to learn about all the different roles they can have in respiratory care.”
Respiratory care teams at each NPHN affiliate hospital will also assist in providing the students with a diverse clinical experience. Members on these teams include Mike Strubel, BSRT, RRT, respiratory therapy director at HRMC and an adjunct faculty member for SDSU; Mary Hart, respiratory therapy supervisor at Madison Regional Health System; Meghan Alberts, BS-RRT, HBOT, Brookings Health System’s respiratory therapy supervisor and hyperbaric oxygen tech; and Brookings Health’s director of imaging and respiratory services Nicole Winseman.
“In rural hospitals respiratory therapists need a broad set of skills,” said Winseman. “They must care for a wide range of patients, including adult, pediatric and neonatal, both in outpatient and inpatient settings. They’ll also be asked to perform a variety of tasks, from pulmonary function tests to cardiac stress tests and sleep tests in addition to managing ventilators and administering oxygen and therapeutic medication. By training in a rural hospital setting, the BREATHE-SD students will be ready to care for patients in community hospitals when they graduate.”
Grant funds are being used by SDSU and NPHN partner hospitals to hire additional faculty and purchase equipment so students can assimilate to the specialized and sometimes life-sustaining instruments in a hands-on environment. To learn more about the program, visit www.huronregional.org/breathe-sd and www.brookingshealth.org/breathe-sd.
BREATHE-SD program participants based at Brookings Health System and Madison Regional Health System. BREATHE-SD Students Jake Odegard, Jaida Klanchnik, Austyn VanZee, Jenna Esichens; Director of Imaging and Respiratory Services at Brookings Health Nicole Winseman; Brookings Health Respiratory Therapy Supervisor Meghan Alberts, BS-RRT, HBOT. Not pictured: BREATHE-SD Student Isabel Roth; SDSU Instructor of Respiratory Care Jessica Winterboer; Madison Regional Health System Respiratory Therapy Supervisor Mary H
BREATHE-SD program participants based at Huron Regional Medical Center. Ranae Phinney, RRT, RPST, SDSU Instructor of Respiratory Care; BREATHE-SD Students Anna Tebay and Zoe Martin; and Mike Strubel, SDSU Adjunct Faculty and Director of Respiratory Therapy at HRMC in the BREATHE-SD lab at HRMC
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Grant funds are being used by SDSU and NPHN partner hospitals to hire additional faculty and purchase equipment so students can assimilate to the specialized and sometimes life-sustaining instruments in a hands-on environment. To learn more about the program, visit www.huronregional.org/breathe-sd and www.brookingshealth.org/breathe-sd.
