The Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine is pleased to announce the appointment of Rodrigo Vazquez Guillamet, MD, as Director of the COPD Comprehensive Care Program, effective immediately.
Dr. Vazquez Guillamet is an Associate Professor of Medicine and serves as Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. His clinical work focuses on advanced COPD care and lung transplantation. In this role, he will lead efforts to better coordinate COPD care across the system, including oversight of the airways diseases consult service in collaboration with PCCM leadership and management of advanced practice providers within the program.
He will also focus on improving how patients move from hospital to outpatient care, with the goal of reducing readmissions for acute exacerbations and expanding access to care. This includes developing new care models that reflect how patients actually experience COPD. In parallel, he will work closely with colleagues across airway disease programs, including asthma and overlap syndromes, to strengthen collaboration and create more opportunities for patients to participate in clinical trials and research.
Since joining WashU Medicine in 2019, Dr. Vazquez Guillamet has grown the regional COPD referral base, increased access to lung transplantation for appropriate patients, and expanded use of pulmonary rehabilitation services at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He will continue in his role as Medical Director of Pulmonary Rehabilitation Services, with a focus on integrating those services more closely with the COPD Comprehensive Care Program to better serve patients across the region.