Recognized Programs
Inpatient rehabilitation services are provided through our rehabilitation hospitals located in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Indiana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Certified in Respiratory Failure
Laredo Specialty Hospital is the first hospital in Laredo, Texas, to earn The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval for Respiratory Failure. We are proud to be a “Center of Excellence” for all respiratory failure patients, including those who require prolonged ventilator management and weaning.
Respiratory failure occurs when there isn’t enough oxygen passing from the lungs into the body’s blood stream to help the body’s organs – such as the heart and brain – function properly. We treat numerous medical, surgical, or traumatic conditions that can potentially result in respiratory failure, including:
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- Pneumonia
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- Other medical or surgical complications that require prolonged mechanical ventilation
- Interstitial lung disease and other pulmonary diseases that require high-flow oxygen
- Conditions that affect the nerves and muscles that control breathing such as stroke, spinal cord injuries, and muscular dystrophy
To achieve the best possible results for our patients, we utilize best practices and evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. These include:
- Prolonged mechanical ventilation
- Mechanical ventilation weaning
- Nutrition
- Positioning
- Sleep/Wake cycle
- Early mobility
- Pharmacy
- Case management
National Quality Achievement Award
Ernest Health, which includes Laredo Specialty Hospital, has been recognized nationally for its work in nutrition management and administration for patients being weaned from ventilators in its critical care hospitals.
The initiative, which was initiated and led by Cindy Tew, Ernest Health’s Director of Clinical Programs and Resources and Anne Woodbury, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist at Utah Valley Specialty Hospital, won the 2017 Quality Achievement Award from the National Association of Long Term Hospitals.
The initiative explored if there were specific nutritional indicators that could be tracked that might influence ventilator weaning. In particular, the initiative focused on finding if the level of protein provided to a ventilated patient had any effect on the success of weaning the patient off the ventilator.