Respiratory Care Program Recognized with Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award
GMercyU’s Respiratory Care Program received the Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award presented by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) for the eighth time in program history. The award is presented to programs that achieve a 90% pass rate on the RRT.
Additional requirements include three or more years of outcomes data, holding accreditation without a progress report, having documentation of 90% success rate on the RRT exam, and meeting the CoARC standards for TMC scores and retention.
“The Respiratory Care program members are honored, once again, to have the program recognized with this award. It is truly a group effort to achieve this success, with continued commitment to our students and our program,” shared Randy Solly, MS, RRT, RPFT, AE-C, Coordinator for the Respiratory Care Program. “We are so proud of our students’ accomplishments and success on the credentialing exam.”
The award will be presented at the CoARC Awards ceremony in July 2025.
The Respiratory Care Program was also recognized in December 2024 with the prestigious Apex Award given by the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) to recognize programs that demonstrate best practices within the field of respiratory care to deliver high-quality patient care.
Since 2016, GMercyU’s program boasts a 100% final pass rate on the CRT exam, a >90% pass rate on the RRT exam, and 100% of the Class of 2024 secured jobs before graduation. GMercyU offers both an Associate in Respiratory Care degree and our Bachelor of Health Science in Respiratory Care degree.
In 2024, GMercyU and St. Luke’s University Health Network launched the St. Luke’s Scholars Program to provide up to $100,000 in tuition funding to select students who want to launch their Respiratory Therapist careers at a designated St. Luke’s health network location. In return for a three-year work commitment, GMercyU respiratory care students will receive up to $26,000 in forgivable tuition funding from St. Luke’s, plus up to $84,000 in scholarship funding from GMercyU. This innovative program will help address an urgent need for more highly-skilled respiratory therapists in the region.