Yale COPD Program

Mission Statement

The missions of the Yale COPD Program are to serve as a locally, regionally and nationally recognized center of excellence for comprehensive, state-of-the-art, evidence-based care of COPD patients with the full spectrum of disease severity, clinical phenotypes and comorbidities across the trajectory of illness and across healthcare venues. Additional aims are to educate trainees in the discipline of COPD, and to collaborate with investigators within and outside Yale on research in the field of COPD.

Center Description

The Yale COPD program provides comprehensive and multidisciplinary treatment to patients with the full spectrum of disease severity, clinical phenotypes and comorbidities associated with COPD. We care for individuals with emphysema, chronic bronchitis, COPD with associated bronchiectasis, asthma/COPD overlap, COPD/obstructive sleep apnea overlap, combined emphysema and pulmonary fibrosis (in conjunction with our interstitial lung disease team), as well as people who experience frequent disease exacerbations and/or hospitalizations, those under consideration for surgical therapies for emphysema (such as bullectomy, lung volume reduction surgery and lung transplantation), those in need of pre-operative respiratory assessment for other forms of surgery, those with suspected genetic basis for their disease (such as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency) and those with chronic respiratory failure related to COPD.

The program is staffed by 2 pulmonologists, a pulmonary specialist nurse practitioner, nurses and respiratory therapists with special expertise in COPD. We collaborate closely with and arrange visits for patients with other specialist providers as needed, including (but not limited to) cardiologists, thoracic surgeons, thoracic oncologists, palliative care specialists, otolaryngologists, allergist/immunologists, sleep medicine specialists, and health psychologists.

Particularly appropriate referrals to the Yale COPD Program include people with difficult-to-control symptoms and/or frequent acute disease exacerbations, those who have suboptimal responses to routine medical therapies, complex medical comorbidities or overlap syndromes (as detailed above), those who may require surgical therapies and those who have advanced disease with chronic respiratory failure. Providers in the COPD Program perform thorough and comprehensive evaluations and develop individualized care plans for all patients, with a goal of partnering closely with individuals’ primary care and other specialist providers. Opportunities to participate in clinical research trials of new therapies in COPD are often available through our collaboration with the Yale Center for Asthma and Airways Disease (203-500-3808).

A broad range of services are also available from members of Yale PCCSM at VA Connecticut Healthcare System (West Haven and Newington Campuses). Dr. Rochester also directs the Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program at the VA, to improve the symptoms, functional capacity, exercise tolerance and quality of life of people with COPD and other forms of chronic respiratory disease.

COPD-Related Events at/near Yale

COPD CME Course, April 2016

State-wide Readmissions Summit sponsored by the COPD Foundation, New Haven, CT, March 2017

West Haven Collaborative Breathe-Strong Rally, West Haven CT, November 2017

Future Events

West-Haven Collaborative Breathe-Strong Rally, November 2018

Helpful Links for Patients

• American Thoracic Society (patient information and pulmonary rehabilitation assembly):
  www.thoracic.org
• Patient information: www.livingwellwithcopd.org
• The COPD Foundation: COPD360social (patient community and patient information): copdfoundation.org
• Lung life Pulmonary Rehabilitation Program, Yale New Haven Health: 203-789-3995; ynhh.org, pulmonary outpatient services
• Alpha-1 Foundation: information and links to patient support groups: alpha1.org
• Better breathers Clubs, Patient support groups: www.lung.org
• Smilow Smoking Cessation/Tobacco Treatment Program: quitsmoking@ynhh.org or 203-688-1378
• Connecticut Quit Line: www.quitnow.net or portal.ct.gov (Tobacco Control Program)
• American Lung Association: Information and Tobacco Cessation: www.lung.org

COPD In the News

• The updated 2018 WHO/NIH GOLD Report is now available via the weblink: www.goldcopd.com
• The recently published National Action Plan for COPD is available at the weblink: COPD.NIH.gov

Winchester Chest Clinic
Fitkin Memorial Pavilion
789 Howard Ave, 2nd Floor
New Haven, CT 06519

Appt: (203) 785-4198
Fax: (203) 737-5453