Respiratory therapist to address WWC
Women’s Welcome Club will hold its business luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at the Hot Springs Country Club. Gretchen Lawrence will talk about the Lawrence Respiratory Foundation Professional Achievement in Respiratory Care scholarship fund.
Lawrence is a registered respiratory therapist who practiced in Dallas for more than 30 years. After working in critical care and medical sales and education, she was recruited to Baylor University Medical Center to establish the Baylor Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program. That multi-disciplinary program expanded to include care for asthmatics and those awaiting lung transplantation.
In 1986-87, she taught pulmonary rehabilitation to the first students in the respiratory therapy training program in Costa Rica, under the sponsorship of Project HOPE. She served in many capacities for her professional organization, the American Association for Respiratory Care, including chair of the Rehabilitation and Continuing Care specialty section, author of the school-based asthma education program called Peak Performance USA, and as a representative to the National Heart, Lung and Blood division of the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. Her honors include Specialty Practitioner of the Year, and the Allan & Hansbury Asthma Education Literary Award. She was named a Fellow of the AARC in 2000.
Women new to Hot Springs within the last 24 months who have a permanent Hot Springs address and are interested in making friends and participating in philanthropic projects are encouraged to call club President Coni Hall at 760-744-4491 or membership chair Sharon Turrentine at 318-348-2662 for additional information and/or to make reservations.