Pulmonary Rehab helps for Better Function Day to Day

Pulmonary Rehabilitation Week was celebrated last week, March 9-15.  Local Pulmonary Rehabilitation is a program offered at Veterans Memorial Hospital that teaches a person to live and breathe better with chronic lung disease.  Conditions such as emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, restrictive lung disease and cystic fibrosis can make doing every day activities difficult due to shortness of breath and low activity tolerance. Participation in a pulmonary rehab program can help increase strength, manage shortness of breath, decrease anxiety and depression and implement a consistent at-home exercise program.

Pulmonary Rehabilitation consists of closely supervised exercise sessions staffed by Amy Rolfs, RN, and Diesty Weymiller, RN. During these sessions heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen level, shortness of breath and exercise tolerance are monitored and assessed. Sessions also include education about breathing techniques, energy conservation, medications, oxygen use and self evaluation to help increase a person’s activity tolerance.  The pulmonary rehab staff also provide other information that help set goals and create a plan for managing  chronic lung disease and improving quality of life.

Ed Strong of New Albin utilizes this local Pulmonary Rehab program at Veterans Memorial Hospital.    “They do very good work out here and I like both Amy and Dietsy.  They let me do as much as I can do and I am improving,” states Ed.  “They have many good services here.  I also have dry needling and deep ultrasound done with Amy Robinson, Physical Therapist.  This is a good place to go when needed.”

For more information in understanding and managing pulmonary function and improving health, please call the Rehabilitation Department at Veterans Memorial Hospital at 568-3411.