Respiratory Services

Our Services

Respiratory Services are provided to patients of all ages groups (neonatal- geriatric) and are available 24 hours per day, seven days per week. These services are provided in multiple patient care settings, including critical care, delivery room, emergency department, inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic lab settings. Respiratory Care is specifically focused on the assessment, treatment, management, control, diagnostic evaluation, education, and care of patients with deficiencies and abnormalities of the cardiopulmonary system. We provide services to patients with a wide variety of conditions, using many advanced therapies.

Therapies

• Airway clearance therapies
• Inhaled nitric oxide
• Administration of inhaled medications
• Advanced modes of mechanical ventiation
• Airway management
• ARDSnet protocol
• Video and Endobronchial Ultrasound Bronchoscopy

Diagnostic Services

The Cardiopulmonary Diagnostic Services at Huntington Hospital is a modern testing center which utilizes state of the art technology. Our staff are credentialed Registered Pulmonary Function Technicians (RPFT) and or Certified Pulmonary Function Technicians (CPFT), NIOSH Certified, and state licensed Respiratory Care Practitioners (RCP). The testing services we provide may be used for Pediatric patients ranging from 7 years of age through Geriatrics. Tests include;

Tests include:

• Pulmonary Function Tests – These provide an assessment of lung health. Testing is used to diagnose the severity of lung disease, pre-surgical risk assessment, the monitoring of chronic lung disease over time, and your response to medicines and therapies ordered by you doctor, assessment of the effects or response to environmental and/or occupational exposure, and assessment of impairment or disability. Specific tests include; Spirometry, Bronchospasm Evaluation, Bronchial Provocation, MIP-MEP, and Complete Pulmonary Function Tests.
• Cardiopulmonary Exercise Tests – These provide an assessment of your cardiopulmonary health. These tests include; your exercise capacity, evaluation of shortness of breath, the extent of impairment in disability evaluations, your response to medicines and therapy ordered by your doctor, pre-surgical risk for major chest or abdominal surgery, and to create exercise prescriptions for lung or heart rehabilitation.
• Six Minute Walk Test – This test may be used as a one-time measure of your exercise capacity and fitness. It is also useful for determining your response to medicines and therapies ordered by you doctor.
• High Altitude Simulation Tests (HAST) – These can aid in the assessment of patients with known or suspected lung disease who are at risk for developing shortness of breath due to low oxygen during planned air travel or vacations at higher elevations. We simulate oxygen levels found at 8,000 feet to determine if you develop decreased oxygen. We can then determine how much oxygen provided is needed to maintain adequate oxygenation during a commercial airplane flight or travel to high altitude locales.
• Arterial Blood Gas with Cooximetry Tests – These are blood tests used to assess your lung health by measuring your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. It also is used to assess your response to medicines and therapy ordered by your doctor.
• COPD Assessment and Education – We assess and stage patients using the GOLD Global Initiative standards. We provide education to foster wellness and to assist our patients understand and manage their disease and medications.

Patient & Physician Forms

A note from Dr. Banta, MD, medical director, pulmonology & critical care

“The Pulmonary Department at Huntington Hospital offers a wide variety of cutting edge diagnostic techniques and high quality therapeutic services. Our team of experienced, dedicated professionals are driven to provide you superior service and proven results. At Huntington Hospital, we care about how you breathe.”

– Daryl Banta, MD, Medical Director, Pulmonology & Critical Care

Daryl Banta, MD is also the director of the ICU teaching service for the Internal Medicine residency program at the hospital. His areas of interest include general Pulmonary Medicine, Critical Care Medicine, and Fiberoptic Bronchoscopy. He is fluent in Spanish and a little Tagalog.

Dr. Banta received his undergraduate degree from U.C. Berkeley and completed his medical training at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico and New York Medical College. He finished his Internal Medicine training at University of Southern California and his fellowship training in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center. He is currently triple board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine and Critical Care Medicine. He has been an active staff member at Huntington Hospital since 2009.