Like many rural critical access hospitals, Cascade Medical Center in Cascade, Idaho does not employ respiratory practitioners and has limited experience using the equipment needed to treat patients with serious respiratory illnesses. When the COVID pandemic hit, medical center staff reached out to Megan Koster, Chair of the Department of Respiratory Care, to help educate their staff on how best to care for their patients.

“We were thrilled when Cascade Medical approached us to work with their vendors,” Koster said. “Boise State is home to the largest respiratory care program in the nation, but meeting Idaho’s needs is a top priority for the department. This opportunity was a great example of professionals teaming up to use existing local resources to benefit Idahoans who live in areas with limited access to major medical centers. We look forward to fostering this relationship and cultivating others like it.

Jeff Anderson, associate professor in the Department of Respiratory Care, held four workshops at Cascade Medical Center for his medical staff. Anderson’s instruction included a brief review of lung physiology and disease, and how to use the equipment needed to treat critically ill patients.

During the workshops, lung mechanics were simulated using Cascade Medical’s ventilator and one of the Respiratory Care test lungs. The test lung allowed Anderson to illustrate how ventilator controls are adjusted to provide the best patient care.

Anderson has also worked with the center on strategies to conserve oxygen supplies, which is essential for small rural hospitals that often use oxygen in cylinders rather than the high-capacity liquid oxygen system that found in major medical centers.

In partnership with Lonny Ashworth, professor emeritus and current adjunct professor for the Department of Respiratory Care, Anderson continues to work with Cascade Medical Center, consulting on the purchase of a new ventilator and training associated with the new devices.