Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program

Participation in a pulmonary rehabilitation program benefits nearly all patients with chronic pulmonary disease. The USC Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program offers a wide range of services – from single sessions that focus on a specific need (such as training an asthmatic patient to use a metered dose inhaler) to a comprehensive, two afternoons per week program that lasts for a total of six weeks. The comprehensive program includes exercise training, patient education in a broad range of subjects (from the pathophysiology of the disease to therapy), psychosocial support services, physical therapy, vocational therapy, symptom control techniques, and the use of low flow oxygen. We also offer specialized programs targeted at people with particular challenges, such as pre- or post-lung transplantation patients and patients with cystic fibrosis, emphysema, and fibrosis. Transtracheal oxygen therapy—a technique for delivering oxygen directly into the trachea through a small catheter—is available for patients who require continuous oxygen therapy.