Florence leads the way in bringing advanced respiratory treatment to MUSC Health

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center has spearheaded the introduction of an advanced aerosol delivery system – one that is now transforming how respiratory patients receive breathing treatments in emergency rooms across South Carolina. This delivery system utilizes vibrating micromesh technology versus traditional air-driven nebulizers.

The technology, an innovative nebulizer developed by Aerogen, uses vibrating mesh technology to deliver aerosolized breathing medication in ultra-fine particles (1 to 5 micrometers). Studies show it allows medication to reach deeper into the lungs, resulting in a significantly more effective treatment than traditional nebulizers – up to 6 times deeper when compared with traditional nebulizers. 

This is something that Steven Bouffard, the director of Respiratory Care Services for the MUSC Health Florence, Marion and Black River medical centers, thought could change the game for patient care in Florence and the state by optimizing care and facilitating ED throughput. He said at least 50% of all patients coming into the Emergency Department are now receiving this treatment, which has proved especially effective in cases of asthma and COPD exacerbations.

“When I got here four years ago, I talked about doing this. I came from Massachusetts, where the hospital system I was part of had already adopted this device in their pediatric emergency room,” said Bouffard. “It was incredibly effective, and I knew we had to bring it here. Most patients say they can feel the results immediately.”

MUSC Health Florence Medical Center Emergency Department physician Bradley Russell, M.D., has seen firsthand the difference this specialized nebulizer can make with his patients. He said one of the great things about this technology is that it doesn’t require an oxygen line to work. “It’s a more efficient option because we can give it in any room, in the hallway or at the bedside,” Russell said. “The patients get better, faster because we can deliver medication quicker, and that’s a big deal. 

Traditional nebulizers often require patients to undergo multiple treatments, some must even endure hours-long treatments, wearing an uncomfortable mask or wrestling with maintaining a seal with the mouthpiece. Even then, patients still have residual medication in the nebulizer and/or deposited in their mouths or upper airways. Aerogen’s vibrating mesh system, with its higher respirable fraction, results in particle sizes that reach deeper into the smaller airways that are affected, thus delivering a more effective dose in less time. It also has helped patients avoid mechanical ventilation because the medicine is able to open their bronchial passages faster. Bouffard explained that it only takes about five minutes for the Aerogen nebulizer to deliver the medication into the lungs, leading to rapid results.  

“Because of the time savings and effectiveness of the intervention, we are providing optimal care right from the beginning by using Aerogen’s superior nebulizer. We also stand to relieve some of the congestion in our Emergency Departments. This translates not only into better clinical outcomes, but it provides our patients with a better experience here at MUSC Health,” said Bouffard. 

Bouffard said that playing a key role in introducing this respiratory device at MUSC Health Florence Medical Center, and seeing it adopted at hospitals across the health system, is a point of personal pride and demonstrates MUSC Health’s dedication to patient care across its health system. 

“I feel like we’re doing the right thing,” said Bouffard. “We are optimizing care while providing our respiratory therapists with the tools they need to do their jobs well.”