New program offered for asthma patients

A new education program at North Valley Hospital will teach patients with a primary or secondary asthma diagnosis how to deal with their condition. 

Carrie Bates, a registered respiratory therapist and manager of the Respiratory Therapy Department, will lead the program, funded in part by the Montana Asthma Control Program’s “Asthma Hospital Patient Education, Action Plan and Discharge Protocol,” or the “AHEAD Protocol.”

Essentially, what Bates and other respiratory therapists will inform patients about asthma, what it means for their lives and what they can do going forward.

“Our goal is to educate our patients about asthma to give them a better quality of life,” Bates said. “By learning how to recognize what may trigger an asthma attack and modifying their environment, we ultimately hope that it will reduce asthma-related readmissions for people living with the disease.”

North Valley Hospital was given a $5,000 grant from the AHEAD Protocol to help respiratory therapists teach patients self-management of asthma.

According to hospital-provided numbers, more than 90,000 Montanans suffered from asthma in 2012, with 2,500 emergency room visits related to the disease.

For more information on the Asthma Prevention Program at North Valley Hospital, contact Bates at 863-3670.