Respiratory Care

At a Glance

Assisting physicians in the prevention and treatment of respiratory system diseases and disorders

LLCC’s 21-month program puts you on the path to an exciting career as a respiratory therapist, providing diagnostic and therapeutic care to patients of all ages. Bedside, in the emergency room or in an ambulance, respiratory therapy practitioners are vital members of the lifesaving team. With a nearly 100 percent job placement record, most graduates have job offers before completing the 21-month program. LLCC's program is located at HSHS St. John’s Hospital, providing access to direct patient contact, hospital equipment and facilities. Program graduates have the skills to succeed in the workforce in hospitals, medical transport companies, home health, physicians' offices and sleep labs. Sixteen students are admitted each fall semester. The application deadline is the last Monday in July.

Degrees & Certs

LLCC offers the following program to successfully equip you for a career in respiratory care. Learn more about the required courses for the program:

Job Outlook

Cost

For the 2023-2024 academic year (fall 2023, spring 2024 and summer 2024), respiratory care (RCP) classes have a tuition rate of $274 per credit hour for in-district residents. All other classes in the program have a standard in-district rate of $137 per credit hour. Get more information on tuition and fees.

Books sold separately.

Paying for college

Learn more about cost of attendance.

There are ways to get help paying for college. Learn more about paying for college.

Free training opportunity

The Pipeline for the Advancement of the Healthcare Workforce (PATH) program provides free training and supports for occupations within the health care field. Learn more about PATH, including support services, programs and eligibility.

Start/Info Session

Sixteen students are admitted each fall semester. If this is a career in which you are interested, be sure to:

  1. Attend an information session and fulfill this requirement for admission. The following subjects will be discussed: choosing a career in health care, admission requirements, program requirements and clinical requirements.
    • You may attend a session via Microsoft Teams on the dates listed below. All sessions begin at noon. To register for the link, please email the RCP program director. Please provide your name, email address and a contact number in case of cancellation. You will be emailed the Teams link for the meeting.
      • Jan. 4, 2024
      • Feb. 1, 2024
      • March 7, 2024
      • April 4, 2024
      • May 2, 2024
      • June 6, 2024
      • July 11, 2024
      • Aug. 1, 2024
      • Sept. 5, 2024
      • Oct. 3, 2024
      • Nov. 7, 2024
    • Or you may view the RCP information session on-demand (at your convenience). It is pre-recorded and available anytime and will take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
  2. To help ensure that students are successful, our program has special admission requirements. To prepare for applying to the program, please follow the RCP application steps.

To prepare graduates with demonstrated competence in the cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor (skills), and affective (behavior) learning domains of respiratory care practice as performed by registered respiratory therapists (RRTs).

This program is accredited through the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC) program #200481. For inquiries about accreditation, contact CoARC at 817-283-2835 or visit the CoARC website.

CoARC accredits respiratory therapy education programs in the United States. To achieve this end, it utilizes an ‘outcomes based’ process. Programmatic outcomes are performance indicators that reflect the extent to which the educational goals of the program are achieved and by which program effectiveness is documented.

Current period three-year average 2019-2021

Retention – 89%
Job Placement – 93%
RRT Credentialing Success – 86%
Overall Employer Satisfaction – 100%
Overall Graduate Satisfaction – 100%
CoARC Outcomes for 2019-2021