Collierville, Tenn., July 28, 2005 - Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville has again earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition under a national program aimed at helping patients and families make informed decisions about the quality of the respiratory care services available in hospitals.

About 500 hospitals, or approximately 10 percent of hospitals in the United States, have applied for and received the award. Baptist Collierville joins Baptist Memorial Hospital-Huntingdon and Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women as a recipient of this recognition in 2005. Baptist Collierville was the first Baptist Memorial hospital to be recognized when the program began in 2003.

“We are fortunate to have been able to attract and retain exceptionally skilled registered respiratory therapists here at Baptist Collierville,” said Don Morris, director of respiratory therapy at Baptist Collierville. “The respiratory care team at Baptist Collierville is committed to providing high-quality care to our patients, and we are excited and proud to receive this recognition.”

The Quality Respiratory Care Recognition program was started by the American Association for Respiratory Care in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory care. Hospitals earning the QRCR designation help ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to a strict set of criteria governing their respiratory care services. A list of QRCR hospitals is maintained at the association’s Web site for consumers, www.yourlunghealth.org.

Baptist Memorial Hospital-Collierville opened its doors in May of 1999. With all the amenities of home, this full-service hospital sits on a 75-acre park-like campus and features extra-large patient rooms and a walking trail. Medical services include a full-service emergency room; inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation; inpatient and outpatient surgery; ICU; six-bed step-down unit, inpatient and outpatient diagnostics; the Baptist Sleep Disorders Center; and 48 acute care beds.

For more information about respiratory care services at Baptist Collierville, please call (901) 861-9000 or visit http://collierville.baptistonline.org.

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