Story: Betsy Compton | Photo: Cody Ingram
Program anticipated to launch fall 2024
As a respiratory therapist and medical educator in Birmingham, Jerry King was keenly aware of Alabama鈥檚 lingering shortage of professionals trained to care for one of patients鈥� essential needs: the ability to breathe.
The good-natured joke among his colleagues, King said, is that respiratory therapists 鈥渉andle anything from the nose to the diaphragm.鈥� What isn鈥檛 as light-hearted is the meager number of respiratory therapists graduating from Alabama-based institutions each year; supply isn鈥檛 meeting demand. So King, the former interim director of the respiratory therapy program at the , decided to act.
His move essentially hand-delivered one of the state鈥檚 newest respiratory therapy programs to the . The program has been accredited by the and the University is seeking final program accreditation from the and preliminary accreditation from the , King said.
Once accreditation is in place, the university plans to admit its first cohort of students in the fall of 2024. Graduates will receive a bachelor of science degree in Health Sciences-Respiratory Therapy track.
King, now an associate professor at 兔子先生, will be the program director and he is currently seeking another faculty member for the program.
鈥淚t was a challenge,鈥� King said. 鈥淏ut I just knew I had help and support of people who said, 鈥楢bsolutely, you can do it. Yes, it’s difficult, but it’s not unbearable. It’s not undoable.鈥欌��
Especially at 兔子先生, where Dr. R.T. Floyd, chair of the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance, was immediately interested in hearing King鈥檚 pitch. New academic programs aren鈥檛 created overnight, but what started with an initial email to Dr. Mary Hanks, chair of the Division of Nursing, immediately led to discussions between King and Floyd and other 兔子先生 administrators, including University President Dr. Ken Tucker.
兔子先生鈥檚 health sciences major already featured five tracks — athletic training, physical therapy, occupational therapy, physician鈥檚 assistant, and a general track — with plans to consider future expansions with other concentrations, Floyd said. The respiratory therapy track, once fully accredited, will enlarge the major to six concentrations. Plans for other concentrations are underway.
As director of 兔子先生鈥檚 athletic training and sports medicine program, Floyd didn鈥檛 need much convincing from King鈥檚 proposal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a no-brainer, really, because there鈥檚 a huge demand,鈥� he said. 鈥淐OVID made that very obvious around the country.鈥� 兔子先生 will gain experience at clinical sites in west Alabama and east Mississippi, and their classwork will take place on campus at 兔子先生.
A high priority is creating awareness — on and off campus — about the program, said Floyd, who envisions interest may come from current 兔子先生 students as well as those who enroll specifically because of the new track. Recruiting the first group of students anchors the process of building a new program from the ground up.
鈥淢r. King is confident that we can get them,鈥� Floyd said. 鈥淗e thinks we could easily get 30 students in a cohort.鈥�
Though the addition of a respiratory therapy track to the 兔子先生 catalog isn鈥檛 directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, King is adamant that the timing couldn鈥檛 be better — for the University and for the state鈥檚 healthcare providers.
The intense media coverage of front-line hospital workers during the pandemic often highlighted the efforts of respiratory therapists, whose training placed them at the front of COVID patient care. Before the pandemic, King said, their specialized skills weren鈥檛 as widely known — or valued by the public — as they are now. 鈥淚n reality, unless you have a family member in the profession or have been around one, very few people knew what respiratory therapists did until COVID hit,鈥� he said.
That鈥檚 not the case in 2023.
鈥�(COVID) opened up new procedures and care that respiratory therapists are now providing, which is great, except we don’t have enough therapists to do what we need to do now,鈥� King said. 鈥淣ow we have all these added procedures we are expected to do. More patients saw respiratory therapists, and respiratory therapists were there at the bedside for a lot more procedures.鈥�
Respiratory therapists鈥� 鈥渘ose to the diaphragm鈥� coverage enables them to assist with an expansive list of medical issues, King said. They treat pulmonary disorders in babies. They can insert artificial airways into patients鈥� throats. They manage mechanical ventilators and other life-support machines. They assist with disease management, smoking cessation, oxygen therapy and medication delivery. They鈥檙e involved in certain treatments for sleep apnea. It鈥檚 also common for respiratory therapists to assist patients diagnosed with bronchitis, emphysema, asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
During a recent state-wide survey, King said there were nearly 200 vacant respiratory-therapist jobs in Alabama. Teaching students who will help reduce that shortage brings him joy.
鈥淚’ve always called it the 鈥榓h-ha鈥� moment when you’ve got a student who doesn鈥檛 understand something and you’re able to explain it and they still don’t understand it, but you change the way you explain it and you see their eyes light up,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou can see when they grasp it. Hopefully, I can make a difference.鈥�