American Association for Respiratory Care

The American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) is a United States nonprofit professional organization focused on respiratory care, the clinical field concerned with the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and management of cardiopulmonary and breathing disorders. It describes itself as the only professional organization dedicated to supporting respiratory care in the United States. Its work combines professional advocacy, public and practitioner education, standards-related collaboration, communication, and efforts to strengthen interest in respiratory therapy as a health profession. The organization traces its origins to 1943, when it began as the Inhalation Technician Association during the early development of organized inhalation therapy. The University of Chicago Hospital formed the Inhalation Therapy Association in 1946, and the association was chartered as an Illinois nonprofit organization in 1947. It subsequently adopted a sequence of names reflecting the changing terminology and scope of the profession: American Association of Inhalation Therapists in 1954, American Association of Inhalation Therapy in 1966, American Association of Respiratory Therapy in 1973, and American Association for Respiratory Care in 1986. AARC's activities include lobbying and public-policy engagement at both national and local levels, particularly where legislation affects respiratory therapists, respiratory-care delivery, professional recognition, licensure, education, and patient access. It also promotes the profession to prospective students and the wider public, seeking to increase awareness, interest, and membership. The association works with medical, hospital, critical-care, pulmonary, respiratory-therapy education, accreditation, licensing, and patient-health organizations. Its affiliations include bodies such as the American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, American Hospital Association, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Academy of Pediatrics, National Board for Respiratory Care, and the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care. Publishing has been a continuing part of AARC's role. Its journal, Respiratory Care, is the successor to the association's earlier publication Inhalation Therapy, which began in 1956. AARC also publishes AARC Times Magazine, serving as a professional communication channel for respiratory therapists and others working in the field. The association organizes professional education and major meetings, including its International Respiratory Congress, and provides materials addressing clinical practice, professional development, and patient education. AARC operates primarily in the United States and is not a publicly traded company. It is best understood as a professional association and field-wide institution rather than a consumer product brand. Its brand is associated with respiratory therapy advocacy, professional identity, education, clinical communication, and collaboration across pulmonary and critical-care health systems. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current headquarters address, current executive roster, revenue figures, or a corporate parent.

The American Association for Respiratory Care developed alongside the emergence of inhalation therapy as a distinct area of health-care practice in the United States. Its origins are traced to 1943, when the Inhalation Technician Association was established to support practitioners working with inhalation treatments and related respiratory technologies. As hospitals and clinicians increasingly formalized this work, the University of Chicago Hospital formed the Inhalation Therapy Association in 1946. The association was chartered as a nonprofit organization in Illinois in 1947. The organization changed its name several times as professional responsibilities and terminology evolved. In 1954 it became the American Association of Inhalation Therapists. In 1966 the name changed to American Association of Inhalation Therapy, retaining the AAIT abbreviation while placing greater emphasis on the broader field rather than a particular practitioner title. In 1973 it adopted the name American Association of Respiratory Therapy, reflecting the expanding clinical role of respiratory therapists. In 1986 it took its present name, American Association for Respiratory Care, a designation intended to encompass the wider scope of respiratory care and the association's support for both practitioners and patient care. Publication has been central to the association's professional mission. The organization began publishing the journal Inhalation Therapy in 1956. That publication later developed into Respiratory Care, a principal professional journal associated with the field. AARC Times Magazine provides another communications platform, with a more association-oriented focus on professional developments, practice issues, advocacy, and member information. AARC's institutional role extends beyond publishing. It represents respiratory care in policy discussions and seeks legislation favorable to respiratory therapists and patients at federal, state, and local levels. It also promotes respiratory care as a career and professional discipline, with the goal of increasing public awareness, student interest, and association membership. Its work intersects with education, licensure, accreditation, clinical standards, hospital administration, pulmonary medicine, critical care, neonatal care, sleep-related care, and patient education. The association maintains affiliations and working relationships with a broad range of health-care and professional bodies. These include the American Heart Association, American Thoracic Society, American Hospital Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Society of Anesthesiologists, American Association of Critical-Care Nurses, National Board for Respiratory Care, Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care, and other organizations involved in medical education, health-profession regulation, hospital quality, and respiratory health. It has also engaged with organizations concerned with tobacco control, lung-health education, long-term care, and allied-health careers. In the 2010s, publicly cited activities included professional congresses, educational work using simulation, patient information for oxygen users, and policy engagement concerning inhaler regulation. These examples show an organization operating as a field-wide professional institution rather than as a commercial health-care provider. AARC's publicly documented identity remains centered on representing respiratory care in the United States, supporting practitioners, disseminating knowledge, and advocating for effective respiratory-care services. Available reference material does not provide a confirmed current headquarters, current leadership list, financial profile, or parent organization.

1. 1986Adopted the current AARC name

   The organization became the American Association for Respiratory Care, its current name.

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2. 1973Renamed American Association of Respiratory Therapy

   The new name reflected the profession's transition from inhalation therapy toward the broader respiratory-therapy field.

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3. 1966Renamed American Association of Inhalation Therapy

   The association changed its name again while retaining the AAIT abbreviation.

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4. 1956Launch of Inhalation Therapy

   The association began publishing Inhalation Therapy, an early journal for the developing profession.

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5. 1954Renamed American Association of Inhalation Therapists

   The organization adopted a name centered on inhalation therapists and became known as the AAIT.

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6. 1947Chartered as an Illinois nonprofit

   The Inhalation Therapy Association was chartered as a nonprofit entity in Illinois.

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7. 1946Inhalation Therapy Association formed

   The University of Chicago Hospital formed the Inhalation Therapy Association as the profession became more institutionally organized.

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8. 1943Origins as the Inhalation Technician Association

   The organization traces its beginnings to the Inhalation Technician Association, formed during the early development of organized inhalation therapy in the United States.

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A national professional association representing respiratory care practitioners and promoting respiratory care through advocacy, education, publications, professional networking, and collaboration with health-care institutions.

• Respiratory CareProfessional journal

  Respiratory Care is the association's principal professional journal and developed from the earlier publication Inhalation Therapy. It serves the respiratory-care community through clinical, scientific, educational, and professional content related to cardiopulmonary care and respiratory therapy.

• AARC Times MagazineProfessional magazine

  AARC Times Magazine is an association publication intended to communicate professional news, practice developments, advocacy issues, member information, and other topics relevant to respiratory therapists and the broader respiratory-care community.

• International Respiratory CongressProfessional conference

  The International Respiratory Congress is an AARC professional meeting that brings together members and respiratory-care stakeholders for continuing education, clinical discussion, professional networking, and exchange of information across respiratory and critical-care practice.

• 2011Policy support for the planned epinephrine phase-outOther

  Environmental and regulatory policy concerning epinephrine inhalers affected respiratory treatment products and clinical practice.

  What changed. AARC urged the Environmental Protection Agency to move forward with the planned phase-out.

  Aftermath. The position demonstrated AARC's willingness to participate in respiratory-related regulatory debates; the cited material does not establish a broader organizational or financial outcome.

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• 1986Adoption of the American Association for Respiratory Care nameStrategy

  The organization had repeatedly changed its name as inhalation therapy developed into the broader respiratory-therapy profession.

  What changed. It adopted the name American Association for Respiratory Care, emphasizing a wider field of care rather than a narrower treatment or occupational label.

  Aftermath. The 1986 name became the association's continuing identity and aligned its public positioning with the broader scope of respiratory care.

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• 2012AARC releases an audiobook for oxygen users

  AARC released an audiobook intended to provide accessible information for people who use supplemental oxygen, extending its patient-education role beyond professional audiences.

  Product launch
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• 2012AARC International Respiratory Congress coverage

  Contemporary coverage documented AARC's International Respiratory Congress as a major professional meeting for respiratory-care education, networking, and exchange of clinical knowledge.

  Other
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• 2012Respiratory-care departments take a lead role in postoperative monitoring

  An industry article discussed the role of respiratory-care departments in postoperative monitoring, reflecting the clinical areas and professional practice issues addressed within AARC's field.

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• 2012Simulation programs for educating health professionals

  Coverage examined simulation-based education and its implications for respiratory therapists, highlighting the profession's interest in structured clinical training and educational innovation.

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• 2011AARC urges the EPA to proceed with planned epinephrine phase-out

  AARC publicly supported the planned phase-out of epinephrine-based inhalers in an environmental regulatory context, illustrating the association's engagement with respiratory policy and treatment-related regulation.

  Regulation
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1. American Association for Respiratory Care
2. AARC International Respiratory Congress
3. Respiratory Care Departments Take a Lead Role in Postoperative Monitoring
4. Educating Health Professionals with Simulation Programs
5. AARC Urges EPA Go Forward with Planned Epinephrine Phase Out
6. AARC Releases Audio Book for Oxygen Users