Adventist Health System
- Project Title: Quality Improvement Project to Address Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Grant Period: 8/01/2016 – 7/31/2019
- Program Representative Interviewed: Benjamin Mullin, Cardiopulmonary Director
- Location: Marysville, CA
- Program Overview: In response to high hospital readmission rates among COPD patients, Adventist Health System implemented a project based the University of California Davis Medical Center's evidence-based Reversible Obstructive Airway Disease (ROAD) program, in which respiratory therapists provide individualized case management and treatment planning to COPD patients before discharge to help them better manage their symptoms in the outpatient setting and avoid readmissions. Respiratory therapists also educate patients through a four-module series to review the COPD diagnosis, smoking cessation, infection prevention techniques, recognizing signs of exacerbation, the importance of primary care and pulmonology appointments, and pharmacologic treatments such as medications and supplemental oxygen. In addition, respiratory therapists review the patient's personalized COPD action plan to enhance self-management.