The Respiratory Care Program at Oregon Institute of Technology (Oregon Tech) will be recognized on July 13, 2015 by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) as a recipient of the Distinguished Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) Credentialing Success Award. The award will be presented at the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) Summer Forum in Arizona to recognize Oregon Tech for being among the top 2 percent of respiratory care programs in the United States.

This award is presented as part of the CoARC’s continued efforts to value the RRT credential as a standard of professional achievement. From a program effectiveness perspective, the CoARC views the RRT credential as a measure of a program’s success in inspiring its graduates to achieve their highest educational and professional aspirations.

In selecting programs for this recognition, the CoARC Board used objective criteria based on key accreditation metrics documented in the 2014 Annual Report of Current Status (RCS). These programs were required to: (1) have three or more years of outcomes data; (2) hold accreditation without a progress report; (3) document RRT credentialing success of 90% or above, and (4) meet or exceed established CoARC thresholds for CRT credentialing success, attrition and positive (job) placement.

Respiratory Care
“This award exhibits the dedication and commitment we have in working toward excellence and high student outcomes,” said College of Health, Arts, and Science Dean, LeAnn Maupin. “I am very proud of the work our faculty, students, and graduates have put into meeting this rigorous criteria. It is significant to receive external validation of the high quality standards of our RRT program and how this leads to success for our graduates once they are in the workforce.”

The Oregon Tech Respiratory Care program has a 97% success rate of students employed within 6 months of graduation, with an average starting salary of $58,000-$60,000. Graduates are employed in hospitals, physician's offices, rehabilitation facilities, home-care agencies and health care promotion centers as caregivers, managers and educators.

For more information about Oregon Tech’s Respiratory Care program, contact Jeff Pardy, Program Director, at jeff.pardy@oit.edu.

About Oregon Tech’s Respiratory Care Program
Oregon Tech offers a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Care at the Klamath Falls campus, as well as an online degree completion program for Registered Respiratory Therapists (RRT).  Registered respiratory therapists are physician extenders who, under medical direction, administer cardiopulmonary care, evaluate and assess pulmonary patients, and administer medications and diagnostic tests when appropriate.

About Oregon Tech
Founded in Klamath Falls in 1947, Oregon Institute of Technology is the only public institute of technology in the Pacific Northwest. Oregon Tech provides degree programs in engineering and health technologies, management, communication, and applied sciences that prepare students to be effective participants in their professional, public, and international communities through hands-on, applied and relevant learning. Oregon Tech has a full-service, residential campus in Klamath Falls and an urban, industry-focused campus in Wilsonville. Visit www.oit.edu to learn more about Oregon Institute of Technology.

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Respiratory care