From our earliest moments, the gentle and rhythmic exercise of inhaling – and exhaling – fuels our bodies and calms our minds, allowing us to recover from exertion, reduce our stress levels and relieve or reduce pain. Most of the time, and for most people, the simple act of breathing is done without thought or effort. But for anyone who has experienced a health condition or event that makes breathing difficult or impossible, the act of breathing is anything but simple. “If you can’t breathe, you need help,” says Sheila Cabungcal, a respiratory therapist (RT) and member of the expert care support team in the Children’s and Women’s Health Programs at Health Sciences Center Winnipeg (HSC). “I’ve had asthma since I was a child, and I find that my experiences, including my visits to the emergency department, allow me to really empathize with our patients.” Members of the Shared Health Child Transport Team prepare to depart for a call. Cabungcal is an RT, a highly trained health practitioner who spends every workday helping Manitoba’s children and babies breathe. RTs like Sheila work in a variety of care settings ranging from intensive care units and labor and delivery to patient transport. They support diagnosis, intervention and treatment for people with respiratory challenges, including those who are completely dependent on mechanical ventilation. “I quickly learned how vital our role is on the healthcare team and how the decisions we make as RTs can dramatically improve a patient’s condition,” says Cabungcal. “There is no such thing as a typical day. Depending on where we’re assigned, we could be running on a Code Blue, supporting care in an intubated and ventilated patient unit, or attending a high-risk birth.” Reyhan Ozkahriman, respiratory therapist and member of the HSC Winnipeg Child and Women’s Health teams. Sheila Cabungcal, respiratory therapist and member of the HSC Winnipeg Child and Women’s Health teams. Vlad Snovida, advanced practice respiratory therapist and member of the Shared Health Inter-Facility Transport Team. RTs participate in regular education and training to keep up to date with the latest clinical practices and maintain the lifesaving skills they use to support patients of all ages and conditions, from the smallest babies in neonatal intensive care to children with asthma, older adults with chronic respiratory conditions, and everything in between. RTs are also key members of teams that manage the safe transfer of patients between care settings for either a diagnostic test, organ transplant or, for the most critically ill, to an intensive care unit (ICU). “We bring an ICU environment to rural and remote areas of the country, supporting the transport of critically ill children and neonates without the support of an entire hospital or other specialties,” says Todd Mortimer, advanced practice RT (APRT). and member of the Shared Health Child Health Transport Team. “It’s just us out there, so training together, planning together and building a level of trust and synergy allows us to stabilize and bring this patient back safely.” The Child Health Transport Team supports the transport of critically ill neonatal, pediatric and adolescent patients from across Manitoba. In this model, an APRT works alongside a clinical transport nurse during transports that could include an ambulance, airplane, or helicopter. Both roles have an expanded scope of practice, enabling them to safely support critically ill patients during transport without a doctor on board. RTs are also at the heart of adult transport, with a small, cohesive group of APRTs making up the province’s interfacility transport team. The importance of planning, good communication and trust is not lost on team members, who rely on their training and skills to prepare them for almost any situation during a transport.
“As APRTs, we can manage everything from intravenous drug infusions, chest tubes, various types of catheters, ventilator management and patient vitals monitoring. Our breadth of knowledge and training equips us to handle almost anything,” says Vlad Snovida, member of the Shared Health Inter-Facility Transport Team. “We are active in every transport, troubleshooting and providing care to keep our patient alive,” adds Snovida. “It can be a high-pressure environment, especially as we provide this care in a confined space, surrounded by a lot of equipment and with the challenges that travel poses, such as rough roads. It’s a very unique and dynamic job and I feel very privileged to be part of this team.” Allied health providers, such as RTs and APRTs, work in every community, across the continuum of care needs and across the lifespan of the patients they serve. “I enjoy the continuity of care,” says Reyhan Ozkahriman, who graduated just a year ago and now works as a vital member of the interprofessional team at HSC Winnipeg. “How integrated RT is with the team makes this role so enjoyable. Our advice and recommendations are really appreciated here.” “But the best part of our job as RTs has to be the success stories and our ability to watch the kids’ resilience (in my work),” Ozkahriman adds. “We can see a patient who has been admitted to the ICU very sick and on high ventilatory support and be an important part of their recovery process, which is incredible.” From November 6 to 12, Manitoba’s health care organizations are celebrating the diverse and highly specialized skills of our province’s allied health professionals. Representing nearly 200 disciplines working in every sector and area of ​​our health system, allied health professionals are vital members of our healthcare teams.