DAYTON, Ohio — We've heard a lot about the doctors and nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, but respiratory therapists also play a key role in treatment.

What You Need To Know


  • Vicki Laywell is a registered respiratory therapist at Kettering Medical Center who tries to make hospital visits less worrisome.

  • Building those relationships with patients, family member and staff is what keeps her coming back each day

  • She said a little caring and compassion can go a long way

At Kettering Medical Center in Dayton, the care you receive surpasses the surface level of taking care of your medical concerns.

Vicki Laywell is a registered respiratory therapist at Kettering and works to make visits less scary for patients by being compassionate while providing care.

“Sometimes you just need someone to talk to or someone to listen to them,” she said.

She’s approaching her 11th year working a multifaceted role at the hospital that goes beyond the perception RRTs only give breathing treatments.

“We actually assist in the ICUs with intubations, extubations of patients,” she said. “We round with the doctors and nurses in the ICUs, and it’s a team collaboration of figuring out what we’re going to do next as far as a patient is concerned.”

Laywell said RRTs also draw arterial blood gases as well. But she said the most important duty of her job is making a connection with who's in her care.

“My favorite thing is working with the patients and the family members, too,” Laywell said.

She said for visiting family members seeing a loved one on a ventilator or intubated can be a scary thing.

“The most important thing I think is reassuring them that someone is always there with them, watching them and taking care of them,” Laywell said.

Amanda Swindler is the Registered Nurse team lead of the coronary care unit. She said Laywell’s positive attitude and caring nature toward patients and staff is infectious within the unit.

“I think we’re all that way,” Swindler said. “We have a family here at work. We all wanna work well together, help each other, push each other to be the best that we can be.”

And that goes back to Laywell’s golden rule.

“There’s the saying people may not remember your name, but they will remember what you did for them or how you made them feel.”

Building those relationships is what keeps her coming back to work with a positive outlook each day.

“You can go to school, and you can learn all this medical stuff, but it’s the compassion and the caring," Laywell said.