Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Awareness Day

The following information is from .

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the fourth leading cause of death in the U. S. COPD refers to two lung diseases, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, which are characterized by obstruction to the airflow that interferes with normal breathing. 

Bergen Community College’s School of Health Professions is sponsoring COPD Awareness Day on Saturday, November 19, 2011 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Moses Family Meeting and Training Center on the College’s main campus in Paramus. The event is free and open to the public. 

The day’s activities will feature a series of presentations and demonstrations from the College’s various departments in the School of Health Professions.  

• Radiology students will display chest x-rays showing lungs with COPD and discuss various screening methods for individuals.
• Dental Hygiene students will provide an overview of smoking cessation information and oral hygiene care instructions.
• Respiratory Therapy students will display different types of lung models, health surveys and discuss the importance of ventilators and spirometry screening, which measures lung function.
• Nursing students will instruct attendees about different types of medications for COPD patients and provide an overview of blood pressure screening procedures.
• Surgery Technology students will discuss surgical options for patients with COPD and organ transplant information.

The event is co-sponsored by Dr. Deborah A. Goss, of the Hackensack Sleep and Pulmonary Center; OneBreath and the CHEST Foundation; Letairis and Gilead Sciences, and Comfort Sleep.

For additional information, please contact Bergen Professor Joseph Goss, Respiratory Therapy, at (201) 612-5319 or email jgoss@bergen.edu.