NYC Health + Hospitals / Carter Hits New Milestone with Its Ventilator
NYC Health + Hospitals
Carter LTACH Patient Lisa McNamee and Clinical Director Dr. Jamie Baux-Johnson celebrate their ventilator weaning success with a classic fist bump.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter in East Harlem says its specialized ventilator weaning program has increased its successful weaning rate to 81%, up from 72% in 2023. The 14-bed program has helped 150 patients transition off mechanical ventilation over the past year, with the process typically taking two to four weeks. Carter says the program has also expanded opportunities for patients who previously might not have been considered candidates for ventilator weaning. Among them is Lisa McNamee, who had relied on mechanical ventilation for nearly five years after developing severe respiratory failure. McNamee was successfully weaned from the ventilator in June 2026 and is now breathing independently.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter Hits New Milestone with Its Ventilator Weaning Program
Carter is the only Long-Term Acute Care Hospital in New York State
Carter has successfully weaned more than 150 patients, with a remarkable 81% success rate, surpassing the industry standard of 55%
Today NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter’s Long Term Acute Care Hospital (LTACH) announced its 14-bed ventilator weaning program has reached a new weaning rate of 81% from 72% in 2023, surpassing the nationally observed ventilator liberation rate of 55% among long-term care hospitals according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
In the last year, Carter has successfully weaned 150 patients, some of whom were unlikely to breathe independently again. On average, it takes 2-4 weeks to wean a patient from the ventilator on its specialized weaning unit. Carter has also performed over 100 weaning trials in the last eight months, a significant volume of ventilator weaning experience compared to other providers, in general.
“Since becoming Clinical Director of the Ventilator Weaning Unit in August 2025, our team has dramatically improved both the percentage of patients who are successfully liberated from prolonged mechanical ventilation and the number of patients who are given an opportunity to undergo weaning trials. It’s remarkable to think that we’ve successfully liberated more than 150 patients during that time,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter LTACH Clinical Director for the Ventilator Weaning Unit Jamie Baux-Johnson, MD, FCCP, FACEP. “We’ve expanded our program to include patients who, in the past, may have never been considered candidates for weaning – patients like Lisa. Seeing her out of bed, sitting in a wheelchair, and simply being able to look outside from a completely different perspective than when she was confined to the ventilator, really made my day.”
For nearly five years, Lisa McNamee had been confined to her room at the Carter LTACH in East Harlem, where she relied on a mechanical ventilator to help her breathe. Like many patients who end up on a ventilator, her illness was not a sudden event, but a progressive worsening of several conditions over time. McNamee was diagnosed with severe scoliosis causing lung disease with chronic respiratory failure, in addition to a pre-existing diagnosis of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) requiring chronic hemodialysis.
In 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, McNamee was admitted to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County in Brooklyn. Due to life-threatening respiratory failure, she required the use of a ventilator and underwent a tracheostomy. When a patient is expected to need prolonged mechanical ventilation, greater than 10 days, a tracheostomy is often recommended before they are transferred out of the Intensive Care Unit. Rather than continuing with a breathing tube through the mouth, a tracheostomy provides a more comfortable and stable airway for patients who require prolonged ventilator support. It allows for easier airway clearance, reduced need for sedation, and improved comfort as the patient recovers. In 2021, McNamee was transferred to Carter LTACH for prolonged ventilator management and potential weaning from the ventilator.
On June 19, 2026, McNamee was successfully liberated from mechanical ventilation and is now breathing on her own.
“Every day the Carter team did more than provide medical treatment, they brought comfort, hope, reassurance and kindness during my time spent on the unit. I’m grateful for their patience, professionalism and for always treating me with dignity and respect,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter LTACH Patient Lisa McNamee. “I was once told I would be ‘vented for life’ but I serve an awesome God, and I was incredibly fortunate to have such an amazing team of doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, and certified nursing assistants.”
“Lisa McNamee successfully being weaned from a ventilator is indeed a powerful testament to the dedication, expertise, and collaborative spirit of our ventilator weaning unit, led by Dr. Baux-Johnson, and the interdisciplinary care team. For our LTACH patients and their families, this success represents far more than a clinical milestone — it represents renewed hope, greater independence, and the opportunity to reconnect with things that are most important in everyday life,” said NYC Health + Hospitals/Carter Chief Executive Officer Floyd R. Long, LNHA, MBA. “We are incredibly proud of our 81% successful weaning rate, and the specialized long-term acute care and rehabilitation we provide to our patients, so they achieve meaningful milestones on their journey toward recovery.”
Source: NYC Health + Hospitals
