Since 1987, our program has steadily evolved into a highly skilled care facility for those extremely vulnerable patients requiring ventilator care.

Carefully practiced by nursing home professionals, our philosophy promotes the highest level of wellness, balancing the physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of short-term and long-term ventilator care.

Vent Center Environment & Philosophy

• Unique community with a person centered approach
• 12 bed neighborhoods with very high staff to resident ratio
• Residents range in age from 25 to 90+ years old
• Resident’s define their daily routine; flexible meal plan allows for residents to rise, dine and participate in activities at their discretion
• Residents are up, dressed and mobile throughout the facility and community
• Interdisciplinary approach to care – caring for all aspects of each person are vital whether in recovery process or learning to live with the daily challenges of being vent dependent
• With private rooms and a large living room in the center of the neighborhood, we can enhance privacy as well as the ability to interact with others.

Setting the Standard of Care for Vent Dependent

• Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week pulmonary physician and nurse practitioner coverage
• Weekly Interdisciplinary Team bed-side rounds with resident, family, MD and facility team (Nurse Practitioner, Licensed Registered Nurse, Certified Nursing Assistant, Social Worker, Dietician, Respiratory Therapist, PT, OT, ST)
• Successful weaning program; 120 admits in last several years with two-thirds of patients weaned off mechanical vent and allowing them to return home
• Average length of stay for weaning resident is 65 days
• Comprehensive team of therapists (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy, Respiratory Therapy)
• Talking valves and communication boards used to improve our ability to understand resident needs
• Mobility made possible with electric wheelchairs designed to carry the vent and unique technology that allows even the fully paralyzed to be mobile
• Aggressive wound care management
• Psychology and Psychiatry support on-site for psychosocial challenges encountered by those we serve

What is the Role of the Respiratory Therapist?

• Evaluating and monitoring the proper operation of the resident’s ventilator and artificial airway.
• Overseeing and assessing the resident’s progress with weaning. Weaning is the process of reducing a resident’s dependence on the Ventilator
• Administering medications that improve and maximize lung function
• Ensuring the resident’s changing oxygen needs are met
  
  Additionally, in conjunction with the rest of the care team, the Respiratory Therapists set weaning schedules, work with the resident and their family to maximize their goals and also assist the residents with their daily activities and outings.

What is a Ventilator?

A Ventilator or Vent is a machine that breathes for someone that can’t breathe for themselves. There are several reasons why someone may not be able to breathe on their own:

• A neuromuscular disease that weakens the respiratory muscles
• Paralysis
• Respiratory weakness as a result of a major surgery

What Does Weaning Mean?

Weaning is the process of helping a patient reduce their dependence on the Ventilator and take over more of breathing on their own. Weaning can be a quite short or relatively lengthy process, taking only days or a number of weeks. Usually we start by disconnecting the patient from the Vent for a short time to assess their ability to breathe on their own. If they do well, we advance the time off the Vent little by little based on the patient's situation. The weaning process is affected by a variety of factors, including:

• presence of skin breakdown
• ability to vocalize
• patient’s level of consciousness