The week. Respiratory Care Week runs October 25–31, 2026. It became an official national observance in 1982, after leaders of what was then the American Association for Respiratory Therapy took it to the White House. When the association became the AARC in 1986, it was renamed National Respiratory Care Week. Lung Health Day, the public-education piece, was added in 2003.
The origin story. In July 1946, Dr. Levine’s students (oxygen orderlies) met with physicians and nurses in Chicago to form the Inhalation Therapy Association. It was chartered in April 1947. The first registry exams were given in November 1960, in Minneapolis, written and oral. Sister M. Yvonne Jenn, CRNA, became Registered Inhalation Therapist #1. “Inhalation therapy” became “respiratory therapy” in 1973, and “respiratory care” in 1986.
Why it matters. Eighty years. From hauling tanks to running ventilators, ECMO circuits, sleep labs, and PFT labs. Every scope fight we’re in today is the same fight those orderlies started: proving this work takes a trained professional. Not a helper. A clinician.
Share it: Post one line of this history in your department this week. Most of your colleagues don’t know the first registry exam was in 1960, or that the profession started with orderlies who refused to stay orderlies. Source: AARC Virtual Museum, Milestones of the Profession.
The milestone. In June 2026, Alaska became the 50th state to enact respiratory therapist licensure. Every state now legally recognizes what we do as a licensed profession. California passed the first modern RT licensure law in 1982. First to last: 44 years.
How it got done. Not from the top down. The Alaska Society for Respiratory Care led it. They hired a lobbyist, worked with state regulators before the session started, and partnered with the AARC. Rep. Hall and Sen. Bjorkman carried the bill. Implementation details roll out over the next year.
Why it matters. Licensure is the floor every scope argument stands on. It’s the line between a respiratory therapist and “anyone the hospital trains to give breathing treatments.” And with the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact live, that license travels further than it ever has.
The lesson: Fifty states didn’t happen because RTs waited. It happened because state societies showed up. If you aren’t a member of yours, this is the week to join. Source: AARC RC Central, June 2026.
The numbers. About 12.8 million U.S. adults met screening criteria in 2024. Only 18.7% were up to date with low-dose CT screening, according to an American Cancer Society study in JAMA. Lung cancer was projected to cause about 125,000 U.S. deaths in 2025. Eighteen point seven percent.
Who qualifies. Under the 2021 USPSTF criteria: adults 50 to 80 with a 20 pack-year history who currently smoke or quit within the past 15 years. Translation: a big share of the COPD patients on your floor, in your PFT lab, and in pulm rehab.
Where the RT comes in. Lung Health Day exists because public education is in our job description. We take the smoking histories. We run the PFTs. We sit with COPD patients longer than almost anyone in the building. One question costs ten seconds.
Script it: “You may qualify for a yearly low-dose CT that catches lung cancer early. Has your doctor brought it up?” If the answer is no, flag it to the provider or put it in your hand-off. Bandi et al., JAMA 2025.
The problem. Most RC Weeks look the same: a cake, a banner, a mug. Then Monday comes and nothing about how the hospital sees RTs has changed. The week is a platform. Use it like one.
Four moves this week. Ask your mayor, county, or governor for a proclamation. Governors issue them every year, and a local one is an email away. Put one RT outcome number in front of leadership: vent days, unplanned extubations, COPD readmissions. Host a Lung Health Day table with quit resources and screening criteria. And thank a colleague publicly, by name, for something specific.
Don’t forget nights. I’ve worked enough night shifts to know the celebration usually happens at noon. The RTs who carry the overnight codes rarely see the cake. Bring it to them.
The ask: Do one thing this week that outlasts the week. AARC has activity ideas, a planning timeline, and shareable graphics on its RC Week page. Then forward this to one RT who needs to hear it: thank you. We see you.
Next: Neuromuscular disease — ALS, SMA, Duchenne, and the RT who shows up for the long game.
Soon: Lung ultrasound for RTs — the bedside tool you should already know.
On deck: INSURE, LISA, MIST — which surfactant technique your NICU should be using in 2026.
Happy RC Week. Staying at the vent,
15 years across academic medical centers & community hospitals
