What is Pulmonary Rehabilitation?
Pulmonary rehabilitation involves preventive and rehabilitative care for patients with pulmonary (breathing) disease to reduce hospitalization, improve survival, and enhance quality of life. Changes in diet, exercise, and behavioral habits can help control the impact of pulmonary disease by enabling patients to reach a higher level of physiological and psychological functioning.

St. Elizabeth Medical Center's Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program provides supervised exercise training, respiratory care instructions, and education to help and encourage patients with pulmonary (lung) disease.

Who Can Benefit from Pulmonary Rehabilitation?
Anyone who has been diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, chronic bronchitis, asthma, interstitial lung disease, or another lung disease, can benefit from our program.

Pulmonary rehabilitation helps those with lung disease achieve an optimal level of physical capability and independence and increases overall quality of life. This is accomplished with individualized treatment consisting of education, exercise, breathing retraining, and development of coping and support skills. Each exercise program is individually tailored to each participant's needs and abilities.

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Benefits of the Program:

• Reduced hospitalizations
• Increased level of physical activity
• Decreased respiratory symptoms and complications
• Improved self-image
• Increased knowledge of lung disease  

Sample Sessions Include:

• Normal and disease lung processes
• Respiratory medications
• Nutrition
• Stress management
• Energy conservation
• Risk factors
• Breathing retraining