VEP Educational Symposium 2014

VEP’s first Educational Symposium held in February 2014 enabled the VEP clinical educators and the VEP on-call service providers to come together for a weekend of learning, teaching, networking and celebrating VEP’s 20 year anniversary! The two-day symposium held in Kingston, ON, facilitated the on-boarding of new technology;  provided an opportunity for VEP to launch the cough assist device and;  brought together some of Ontario’s leading respiratory therapists in long-term mechanical ventilation, non-invasive ventilation and mouthpiece ventilation, as well as non-invasive airway clearance methods.

A varied range of topics were presented, such as manual assisted cough techniques, mechanical in-exsufflator, emergency preparedness planning for the ventilator-assisted individual (VAI) and new technology including RESMED’s iVAPS and Respironics’ AVAPS A/E. Case studies as well as workshops provided some hands-on experience.

Clinicians in sleep medicine, Kingston General Hospital respiratory therapists and staff from the Assistive Devices Program (ADP), MOHLTC, were also in attendance. Their unique contributions added significant knowledge in the area of sleep medicine; the continuum of care from hospital to home, PHIPA and increased our knowledge of health policy.

Many thanks to the participants, speakers, organizers, VEP staff, and to ADP.  Special thanks also to our sponsors:  Medigas, ResMed, Philips Respironics and VitalAire.