The Lakeland Community College Respiratory Therapy Program is among a select group of programs that have been recognized by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) to receive the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award. CoARC accredits degree-granting programs in respiratory care throughout the country that have undergone a rigorous process of voluntary peer review and have met or exceeded the minimum accreditation standards as set by the professional association.

The department is led by Catherine Kenny, Ph.D., RRT, director and professor of respiratory therapy at Lakeland.

The award is presented as part of CoARC's continued efforts to value the RRT (Registered Respiratory Therapist) credential as a standard of professional achievement.

According to CoARC, the success of Lakeland's Respiratory Therapy program is measured by inspiring its graduates to achieve high educational and professional goals.

The CoARC board used objective criteria based on key accreditation metrics to select programs for the recognition. Among these were maintaining an RRT credentialing success of 90% or above among Lakeland's respiratory therapy graduates for the past three years.

"I am so proud of our graduates and the respiratory community in Cleveland. Cleveland therapists have a long history of leadership in the field of respiratory care and Lakeland's program graduates hold many managerial and supervisory positions throughout the area. Therapists have worked extremely hard in the care of patients during this pandemic which has brought light to our services and the role we play in healthcare," said Dr. Kenny. "It is an honor to work with the professionals that have graduated from Lakeland's program and to have watched their careers grow. My wish with each graduating class is that they serve their patients and employers well and are happy with their career choice. Our program award reflects the dedication of our clinical partners and preceptors, faculty and students."

Dr. Kenny has been at Lakeland since 1983 serving as director of clinical education and then program director since 1992. Prior to Lakeland she served in roles including research, diagnostics and clinical education.

She earned her doctorate degree at Kent State University and both master's and bachelor's degrees in education from Cleveland State University. She earned her graduate certificate from the University of Chicago in respiratory therapy.

Lakeland's Respiratory Therapy program is currently accepting new students.

Fall semester begins Aug. 21. For more information, contact counseling@lakelandcc.edu.

By: Jessica Novak