DALLAS, Oct 15, 2013 — Children’s Medical Center is the first hospital in the nation to have each member of its respiratory therapy staff Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty (NPS) certified. NPS is the highest accreditation a neonatal respiratory therapist can achieve from The National Board for Respiratory Care.
To be admitted to take the Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty Exam, a respiratory therapist must be a Certified Respiratory Therapist with one year of clinical experience or a Registered Respiratory Therapist. The exam consists of 140 multiple-choice questions distributed among three major content areas: clinical data, equipment, and therapeutic procedures.
Setting New Standards in Pediatrics
In June 2012, the respiratory therapy leadership team at Children’s initiated its goal to have all 180 respiratory therapists on staff NPS accredited by 2014. Children’s exceeded its timeline and received 100 percent accreditation in August 2013. To maintain the accreditation, Children’s now requires all respiratory therapists to be NPS certified.
According to Kristen Hood, Children’s clinical educator in respiratory care services, Children’s is setting standards in the respiratory care the staff provides.
“This accreditation is another first at Children’s and demonstrates our commitment to providing the best care possible to make life better for children,” says Hood.
For 100 years, Children’s has been a pioneer in pediatric health. In 1913, it was established as the first pediatric hospital in the Southwest. In September, Children’s became the first hospital in Texas to offer a dedicated neonatal telemedicine program – The Children’s Medical Center TeleNICU. Now, it is the first hospital in the country to be fully NPS-certified.
In North Texas, more than 50,000 children are estimated to have asthma, causing the Children’s respiratory therapy department to see an increasing number of patients who require the highest quality of care. In addition to asthma management, respiratory therapists at Children’s provide a variety of services, including treating patients with neuromuscular diseases, cystic fibrosis and chronic lung diseases.
“The NPS accreditation reinforces our commitment to being leaders in establishing and maintaining the highest standards of care for our staff and ultimately, the children we care for,” Hood says.