Baxter Regional Medical Center

Sunday February 05, 2012

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Pulmonary Rehabilitation

The Baxter Regional Medical Center pulmonary rehabilitation program is designed to help patients with breathing problems control their symptoms and improve day-to-day activities through exercise training, behavioral changes and educational programs. In addition, pulmonary rehabilitation may help reduce the number and length of hospital stays and increase patients’ chances of living longer.

Pulmonary rehabilitation program

The pulmonary rehabilitation team includes physicians, respiratory therapists, physical and occupational therapists, dietitians, social workers, mental healthcare providers and exercise specialists. The goals of the BRMC pulmonary rehabilitation program are to help patients:

  • Reduce and control breathing difficulties and other symptoms
  • Learn more about their disease, treatment options and coping strategies
  • Learn to manage their disease and reduce dependence on health professionals and costly medical resources
  • Maintain healthy behaviors such as smoking cessation, good nutrition and exercise


The program consists of education and exercise sessions, three days a week for six weeks. These sessions include 60 minutes of group education and 90 minutes of supervised exercise.
 
Many patients find that as their exercise techniques improve, their motivation to continue with the exercise program increases as well. As a result, many patients report increased self-esteem and renewed confidence in their ability to control breathing difficulties. After completion of the training program, participants are involved in the development of a maintenance program that they can sustain on their own.
 
Individual educational consultations are available for patients who may need extra assistance with health problems. These include smoking-cessation programs for those who need assistance quitting smoking; an exercise specialist for patients who want to develop a personal exercise program; a physical therapist for patients suffering from musculoskeletal problems; a dietitian for nutritional evaluations; a respiratory therapist for consults on medications, inhalers and treatments; and a social worker or psychologist for personal mental health issues.

A monitored exercise stress test is conducted at the beginning and end of the program to help evaluate the patient’s progress. A spirometry test is also conducted to measure lung function.

For more information, call 870-508-1569.