Melanie Cole, MS (Host): Welcome to Bryan Health Podcast. I'm Melanie Cole. And joining me today to discuss pulmonary rehabilitation is Linda Hohbein. She's a pulmonary rehabilitation specialist at Bryan Health. Linda, thank you so much for being with us today. I'd love for you to give us a brief introduction into pulmonary rehab. Really, what is it?

Linda Hohbein: Yes. Thank you very much for the opportunity. So, pulmonary rehab is considered the standard of care for patients with chronic lung disease, we like to get the word out so people know that there's support that they can utilize.

Melanie Cole, MS: Well, you mentioned that not everybody knows about it. They hear about cardiac rehab all the time, but they don't hear about pulmonary as much. Who is it intended for? Tell us a little bit about the patients that make a good candidate for pulmonary rehabilitation.

Linda Hohbein: Certainly. Pretty much anyone with a chronic lung disease that includes chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic asthma, bronchiectasis, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary fibrosis, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer, lung transplants, cystic fibrosis, post-COVID, you name it. Any chronic lung condition where a person maybe is continuing having difficulty with managing their symptoms despite utilizing medications as instructed. Maybe their symptoms are ongoing. They've been to the doctor frequently or have had frequent admissions to the hospital.

Melanie Cole, MS: Linda, tell us a little bit about what you do at pulmonary rehab.

 What is it you're actually doing for patients? Are you helping them to breathe better, making better muscles? Tell us what it does.

Linda Hohbein: Yes. We help with all of that. People who come to our program will learn how to manage symptoms of shortness of breath. We'll teach them ways to exercise that will help them manage their activities of daily living with less fatigue, less shortness of breath. Through our program where we have both respiratory therapists and exercise specialists working closely with the clients so they know they're treated individually, each person in the program has their own separate exercise prescription, so it's very individualized, but done in a group setting. We have education classes in addition to the exercise, and those topics include how our lungs work, oxygen and who needs it, ways to conserve energy, nutrition, proper use of your medications, breathing techniques and breathing retraining, relaxation, stress management, when to call the doctor, what symptoms to watch for, how to exercise safely at home, and a lot of other items too.

Melanie Cole, MS: Wow, that's a very comprehensive program. So, it really is so educational for people that require this. Where do you do it at Bryan?

Linda Hohbein: We're actually not located at the hospital. We have an off-campus site. It's called LifePoint. Our physical address is 7501 South 27th Street. We have a full gym there, lots of different equipment, and lots of room to spread out. It's easy access from the parking lot also.

Melanie Cole, MS: That's important because people that do have breathing problems have limitations when it comes to walking distances. So, tell us a little bit about how someone gets access to this program. Tell us a little bit about the referral process. Is this self-referred or must they be referred from their pulmonologist? Who refers them?

Linda Hohbein: Yes. A physician needs to refer the client. So, anyone who has a condition, chronic lung condition, like I mentioned earlier, if you're interested, you can talk with your doctor. Your primary care provider can order it, or a pulmonologist, actually any physician can. And they just send us a referral, fax it to our office. And then,

We'll call the patient and set up an initial intake appointment.

This program is ongoing. Typically, we go up to 36 sessions. We don't have to go that many, but it gives us a chance to go through all of our education topics and really get someone working on changing their habits and making exercise a part of their daily routine or weekly routine.

Melanie Cole, MS: Thank you so much for this information. Can you just summarize for us, Linda, the program? What you would like listeners to take away from this important information on pulmonary rehabilitation through bryan Health?

Linda Hohbein: Yeah. So, we're here to help people by helping them learn ways to manage their life so that they can have an improved quality of life, reduce shortness of breath, reduce fatigue. And doing that, they have to put forth some effort. So, we are kind of their support system. We're here, sort of like their cheerleader to guide them and encourage and provide the opportunities for them to succeed. They have to do the work, but we're here to coach them and encourage and support.

The main goal is to help them with some lifestyle changes. We know that not everything can be treated with a medication. We have to make some actual lifestyle changes and we're here to help with that.

Melanie Cole, MS: Thank you so much, Linda, for joining us today and telling us about the program through Bryan Health. To listen to more podcasts from our experts, please visit bryanhealth.org/podcasts. That concludes this episode of Bryan Health Podcast. Please always remember to subscribe, rate, and review this podcast and all the other Bryan Health Podcasts. I'm Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for joining us today.