When a person is critically ill and cannot breathe on their own, they are placed on a mechanical ventilator. Commonly referred to as “life support,” ventilators breathe for the patient. Weaning a patient from a ventilator is a complex process that has been greatly improved through the use of state-of-the-art technology. On this episode of Continuum, Dr. Albert Loerinc, a pulmonologist and Vibra Healthcare’s National LTAC Medical Advisor, joins us to discuss respiratory failure and ventilator weaning. Dr. Loerinc is double board certified in Internal Medicine and Pulmonology and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Loerinc explains what a pulmonologist does and the role of a long-term acute care hospital in weaning a patient off a ventilator. He reviews how technology has progressed from iron lungs to modern ventilators, including a state-of-the-art piece of technology called volumetric capnography.