Good Shepherd Health Care System | 

9

“It’s a horrible way to die,” exclaimed 
Home Respiratory Therapist, Sarah 
Campbell, who shared that she has 
held the hands of many affected 
with this condition as they have 
taken their last breath. “I know there 
was something more we could do 
about it in the outpatient setting. 
After attending a conference back 
east, it kindled a fire within me to 
take what I had learned and apply it 
to our community. After discussing 
it with my manager, we decided 
the benefits this program would 
provide for our community were well 
worth the investment. That’s when 
the Rural Respiratory Program was 
born,” continued Campbell. 

So how exactly does this program 
work? According to Home 
Respiratory Therapist, Michael 
Erickson, the program is designed 
to work closely with an individual’s 
Primary Care Provider (PCP). “A 
lot of our time is spent with our 
physician community. We are a 
resource for physicians and are 
essentially their eyes and ears in 
the patients’ home. Building these 
relationships with PCP’s has been 
crucial to not only the success of the 
program, but ultimately the success 
of their patients. We make the house 
calls that they are unable to do.”

According to Campbell, once they 
receive a referral from a PCP, they 
are fully engaged in helping their 
patients achieve the outcome 
they desire. “Our assessments are 
extensive and spend a lot of time 

Individuals suffering from  

COPD often have recurring 

hospital stays – termed in the 

industry as hospital readmissions, 

something the Center for 

Medicare & Medicaid Services 

(CMS) penalizes hospitals for. 

Many of these readmissions 

are preventable with the right 
education and follow up. That 

is where the Rural Respiratory 

Program steps in.

with our patients on that initial 
visit. We conduct a full history and 
physical and educate-educate-
educate. Education is really 
important to help our patients 
understand where their condition 
is at, how to make it better or how 
to sustain the level where they are 
at to not get worse. We look at 
their lifestyle and provide counsel 
on lifestyle, exercise, and nutrition 
– sometimes there are multiple 
factors that we notice in the home 
that may be deteriorating a patient’s 
health. We want to make sure they 
understand how to make it better.”

“We work hard to build a trusting 
relationship. This allows us to see if 
there are any social determinants 
of health that can be addressed by 
colleagues in other areas,” assured 
Campbell, “And, so far, it has been 
working”.

Working closely with other services 
within Good Shepherd Health Care 
System, they have begun to build 
a healthcare ecosystem focusing 
on many of the components of 
Population Health – better health 
outcomes for patients, enhancing 
the patient experience, lowering 
health care costs, and improving the 
clinician experience. Just what does 
that mean? It means that through 
working with other departments 
such as Education, Community 
Health Workers, Community 
Paramedic, Diabetes Education, 
Cardiopulmonary Rehab, Home 
Health, Hospice, and Personal 
Home Care – they are able to 

We go into patients’ homes, 

assess their situation, 

provide education, help them 

understand how to properly 

use their home medical 

equipment and follow up 

with them on regular intervals 

depending on what stage of 

the program they are in, stage 

one, two, or three.”

successfully collaborate to improve 
the healthcare experience and health 
outcomes of everyone from the 
underserved in the community to the 
sickest patients.

This collaboration was no accident, 
“Our services have been aligned 
for quite some time,” stated 
Campbell, who continued, “But 
we are recognizing that through a 
coordinated effort it will ultimately 
help us reduce the overutilization 
of healthcare services – especially 
the Emergency Room and prevent 
hospital readmissions.”

According to Campbell and Erickson, 
they have also been working closely 
with CHI St. Anthony in Pendleton, 
Morrow County Health District, 
Columbia River Health, Mirasol 
Family Health Center, and other 
organizations to provide this service 
for their patients – truly making this 
service available throughout Umatilla 
and Morrow Counties.

Another benefit to the Rural 

Respiratory Program is that 

it is available for all ages and 

available to anyone with a chronic 

respiratory condition.

So how does one go about becoming 
a patient of the program? “Well, it’s 
not as difficult as you might think. 
The preferred method is always for 
us to get a referral from a patient’s 
physician,” shared Campbell, who 
continued, “But we are willing to work 
with anyone that is in need and help 
them get a referral when needed.”

When asked how much this service 
would cost a patient, Campbell and 
Erickson shared that the service is 
actually available for free. 

For those interested in finding out 
more about the Rural Respiratory 
Program please call 541.667.3477 
or visit the Good Shepherd Home 
Medical Equipment retail outlet at 
435 NW 11th Street in Hermiston.