Respiratory Therapy Program First in U.S. With 100 Percent NPS Certification

Children’s Medical Center is the first hospital in the nation to have each member of its respiratory therapy staff Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty (NPS) certified. NPS is the highest accreditation a neonatal respiratory therapist can achieve from The National Board for Respiratory Care.

To be admitted to take the Neonatal/Pediatric Specialty Exam, a respiratory therapist must be a Certified Respiratory Therapist with one year of clinical experience or a Registered Respiratory Therapist. The exam consists of 140 multiple-choice questions distributed among three major content areas: clinical data, equipment, and therapeutic procedures.

Setting New Standards in Pediatrics

In June 2012, the respiratory therapy leadership team at Children’s initiated its goal to have all 180 respiratory therapists on staff NPS accredited by 2014. Children’s exceeded its timeline and received 100 percent accreditation in August 2013. To maintain the accreditation, Children’s now requires all respiratory therapists to be NPS certified.

According to Kristen Hood, Children’s clinical educator in respiratory care services, Children’s is setting standards in the respiratory care the staff provides.

“This accreditation is another first at Children’s and demonstrates our commitment to providing the best care possible to make life better for  children,” says Hood.

For 100 years, Children’s has been a pioneer in pediatric health. In 1913, it was established as the first pediatric hospital in the Southwest. In September, Children’s became the first hospital in Texas to offer a dedicated neonatal telemedicine program – The Children’s Medical Center TeleNICU. Now, it is the first hospital in the country to be fully NPS-certified.

In North Texas, more than 50,000 children are estimated to have asthma, causing the Children’s respiratory therapy department to see an increasing number of patients who require the highest quality of care. In addition to asthma management, respiratory therapists at Children’s provide a variety of services, including treating patients with neuromuscular diseases, cystic fibrosis and chronic lung diseases.

“The NPS accreditation reinforces our commitment to being leaders in establishing and maintaining the highest standards of care for our staff and ultimately, the children we care for,” Hood says.

About Children’s Medical Center

Founded in 1913, the not-for-profit Children’s Medical Center is the fifth-largest pediatric health care provider in the country, receiving nearly 700,000 patient visits annually with 595 licensed beds at its two full-service campuses in Dallas and Plano, and multiple specialty clinics and 15 primary care MyChildren’s locations. Children’s was the state’s first pediatric hospital to achieve Level 1 Trauma status and is the only pediatric teaching facility in North Texas, affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center. This year, Children’s is celebrating 100 years of making life better for children. For more information, please visit www.childrens.com.