Roane State Community College

September 1, 2023

Roane State’s Respiratory Care Program has once again received the Distinguished Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) Credentialing Success Award from CoARC, the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care.

This is the program’s second consecutive year receiving the recognition. The award recognizes programs that have reached a credentialing success rate of at least 90%, along with other critical outcome and retention milestones. Roane State Respiratory Care achieved a 94% success rate in 2022.

Respiratory Care Program Director Ricky Terwilliger travelled to Florida in July to accept the award during the American Association for Respiratory Care’s summer forum.

“Being recognized for this achievement for the second year is such an honor for our program,” Terwilliger said. “Our faculty, staff, and students work tremendously hard, and this award is proof of their commitment to success. We could not be prouder of our graduates who are helping save lives as part of the respiratory care profession.”

In a letter informing Roane State of the honor, CoARC President Kevin O’Neil wrote that the award is part of the organization’s continued efforts to value the RRT credential as a standard of professional achievement.

“From a program effectiveness perspective, the CoARC views the RRT credential as a measure of a program’s success in inspiring its graduates to achieve their highest educational and professional aspirations,” the letter said.

Roane State’s Respiratory Care Program spans five semesters with a goal to prepare graduates with demonstrated competencies in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by RRTs.

For more information on Respiratory Care at RSCC, visit roanestate.edu/respiratorycare.