Patient Care

Veteran's Affairs Medical Center

The Respiratory Care Center of the VA Medical Center provides clinical consultations, outpatient care, pulmonary function testing and respiratory therapy as well as operating a 12-bed medical intensive care unit. The hospital operates about 200 medical beds and serves as a referral center for two smaller VA hospitals. Because of recent changes in the organization of the VA nationally, the experience has a strong emphasis on outpatient consultation and evaluation. There are three afternoon consultation clinics each week that see 4 to 10 new patients each session. Over 75% of bronchoscopies are outpatient procedures which are managed through the ambulatory evaluation and treatment unit. The clinical experience provides an opportunity to care for large numbers of patients with diseases common in a population of elderly males: lung cancer, chronic obstructive lung disease, obstructive sleep apnea, tuberculosis and respiratory failure. Experience is also offered in exercise rehabilitation, and members of the Division are responsible for the management of a busy sleep lab. The clinical training at the VA Medical Center complements the specialized experiences at the Washington University Medical Center by providing a solid foundation in the management of common, but important, pulmonary problems.