A donation from Peak Medical Group has given Thompson Rivers University nine pulmonary-function stations that will help diagnose chronic lung conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, also known as COPD or asthma.
“We hated to think the machines were going to stay at the back of a warehouse and we thought of Thompson Rivers University,” said Robert Biddlecomble, senior project manager with Peak Medical Group, who is also a TRU alumnus. “This is equipment that’s being used in hospitals in BC right now. It was a great opportunity to upgrade their fleet so students can use equipment that’s being used on patients in the hospital.”
He initiated the donation after slight changes to Alberta’s testing requirements last year put the equipment out of commission in that province. It could have cost the university upwards of $600,000 to buy the equipment new.
The pulmonary stations will allow respiratory therapists to measure how well a patient’s lungs take in and release air, how well the lungs move gases into the body’s circulation and whether treatment will work.
“We rely heavily on donations from companies that usually have our graduates working for them—and that’s very helpful for us,” said Respiratory Therapy (RT) program chair Mike Lemphers. “With the small amount of money that’s available for capital equipment, we just wouldn’t be able to do it.”
TRU is the only university in the province with a respiratory therapy program, with an annual intake of 80 students. Students are taught key concepts and practice in a controlled lab, before working on real patients.
“I didn’t know this was even a career and when I learned about it, it seemed so interesting,” said TRU student, Tiaura-Lee Jenkins. “The past three years in this program have just solidified how passionate I am about this and how cool our job is,” Jenkins said.
“I’ve heard people say RTs are the problem solvers of the team. That’s why it’s important for us to know the equipment, because we are looked up to as knowing how to troubleshoot.”
According to a release from TRU, some of BC’s largest hospitals employ about 150 respiratory therapists.