It was like a breath of fresh air when Amarillo College launched its Respiratory Care Program back in 1972.
Prior to the program’s inception, the city of Amarillo’s four dynamic hospitals had been compelled to recruit and import trained respiratory therapists from well beyond their service area.
But in 1972, the city’s first respiratory therapist, Gary Gerard, who had been recruited to Amarillo from New Mexico four years previously, joined with Dr. Ted Nicklaus and Bill Young to develop the program at AC.
Now, 50 years and about 470 graduates later, AC is preparing to blow out the candles on a celebratory cake.
The program will mark “Fifty Years of Respiratory Care at Amarillo College” with a reception from 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 in the Atrium of the Allied Health Sciences Building on AC’s West Campus, 6222 W. 9th Ave.
The milestone will be observed by students and alumni, by faculty past and present, and by anyone who is interested in the program whose graduates have contributed to innumerable positive medical outcomes for patients, region-wide.
“We are thrilled to celebrate 50 years of educating respiratory therapists here at AC,” Becky Byrd, director of the Respiratory Care Program, said. “Our program has produced hundreds of wonderful graduates, and their service to the communities they’ve served has been indispensable.”
Refreshments and cake will be served at the two-hour reception, and anyone in attendance will have a chance to learn more about AC’s storied program and/or about careers in respiratory therapy.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports there are currently 133,410 respiratory therapists working in the United Sates, everywhere from hospitals, emergency rooms, and neonatal intensive care units, to physician’s clinics and centers for sleep disorders, and even aboard aircraft transporting patients in need of care.
The bureau additionally projects a 23-percent growth in employment opportunities for respiratory therapists between 2020 and 2030, with an estimated 31,100 job openings anticipated during that span.
Students who graduate from AC’s program do so with an associate of applied science degree and are eligible to take national credentialing exams and earn a national Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) credential.
For more information about the reception for “Fifty Years of Respiratory Care at Amarillo College” or about AC’s Respiratory Care Program, call 806-354-6058.
-Amarillo College
