Certified Respiratory Therapist

Respiratory TherapistFull-Time

Listed compensation

$24.88-$37/hr

The week · per this posting

Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations, weekend coverage and time off.

Posted 1h ago · Verified live

Job Description

Where You’ll Work

Welcome to Saint Joseph Hospital, a 433-bed hospital founded in 1877 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth as the first hospital in Lexington, Kentucky. Led by Sister Euphrasia Stafford, the mission to provide compassionate care to the underserved is still carried out today. Saint Joseph Hospital holds over two dozen national ranks and recognitions and is recognized as a 2024 Best Place to Work in Kentucky.

Saint Joseph is part of CommonSpirit Health, a non-profit, Catholic health system dedicated to advancing health for all people. With approximately 175,000 team members and 25,000 physicians and advanced practice clinicians.

Our commitment to serve the common good is delivered through the dedicated work of thousands of physicians, advanced practice clinicians, nurses, and staff; through clinical excellence delivered across a system of 140 hospitals and more than 2,200 care centers serving 24 states.

Job Summary and Responsibilities

As a Respiratory Therapist, you will join an established team of RTs who share your passion for delivering highly specialized cardiopulmonary care to patients experiencing breathing issues. You'll be instrumental in providing a range of treatments from breathing techniques and nebulizer treatments to ventilator management, oxygen therapies, and external ventilation support. Every day you will apply your keen assessment skills and critical thinking to manage diverse patient needs, develop and execute effective care plans, and ensure calm, focused intervention in both routine and emergent situations. To be successful in this role, you will demonstrate a strong sense of urgency, unwavering calm under pressure, and the ability to anticipate outcomes. Your dedication to patient well-being and exceptional problem-solving abilities will drive success in this vital role.

Plans and administers non-medicated aerosol and humidity therapy. Plans and administers oxygen therapy (including implementation of oxygen therapy protocol where appropriate).

Plans and administers aerosolized medication and specialty gas therapy. Plans and administers COPD care program.

Performs airway management. Plans and administers incentive spirometry.

Cleans and reprocesses respiratory therapy equipment and stocks supplies for immediate use. Plans and administers bronchial hygiene and performs chest physiotherapy (including implementation of bronchial hygiene protocol where appropriate).

Performs cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation during resuscitation attempts and aides in rapid response calls when appropriate. Collects, analyzes and reports arterial blood samples.

Operates mechanical ventilators (invasive and non-invasive) and manages ventilator settings and weaning per protocols and provider orders. Performs electrocardiography studies.

  • ## Sign On Bonus up to $25,000 and Educational Assistance (Student Loan Payback) up to $24,000 for eligible hires
  • Job Requirements

Required

Associates Of Science in Cardiopulmonary Services, upon hire or

Respiratory Care from an accredited respiratory therapy educational program., upon hire

Respiratory Care Practitioner: KY, upon hire and

Certified Respiratory Therapist, upon hire and

Basic Life Support - CPR, within 14 - days and

Advanced Cardiac Life Support, within 90 Days

Key Responsibilities

Provide specialized cardiopulmonary care, including aerosolized medication, oxygen and specialty gas therapies, airway management, ventilator operation and weaning, and COPD care. Assess patient needs, develop and carry out care plans, collect and report arterial blood samples, perform electrocardiography, and support resuscitation and rapid response efforts.

Requirements

Requires an associate degree in Cardiopulmonary Services or Respiratory Care from an accredited respiratory therapy program, plus a Kentucky Respiratory Care Practitioner credential and Certified Respiratory Therapist certification upon hire. Basic Life Support CPR is required within 14 days, and Advanced Cardiac Life Support is required within 90 days.

Qualifications

Experience
2+ years of experience

Certifications

BLSACLS

Key Skills

Patient AssessmentCare PlanningAerosol TherapyArterial Blood Sample Collection and AnalysisEquipment Reprocessing

Respiratory Therapy Career Context

Of the 40 active Respiratory Therapy listings this role was benchmarked against, 3% are remote, 63% have no call, 63% require no weekends.

The cost-of-living index for Kentucky is 90.2 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$64k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $71k in an average-cost state. 61.6% of Kentucky clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).

Top Respiratory Therapist Jobs

10 matches · ranked by pay

Salary Distribution10 jobs

5
<$115k
2
$115k-125k
1
$131k
2
$135k-145k

Annual compensation range

Work-Life Balance Distribution10 jobs

0
1-2
0
3-4
2
5-6
8
7-8
0
9-10

Higher = better work-life balance

#1

Respiratory Therapist

Sutter Health · Sacramento, California

$47.68-$66.75/hr
#2

Respiratory Therapist

Northwell · Terryville, New York

$80k-$136k
#3

RRT - Registered Respiratory Therapist

$58-$63/hr
#4

Respiratory Therapist

$35.94-$55.43/hr
+ 8 more · ranked by pay

Work-life snapshot

median 3.0this job 3.0
Better work-life than 50% of Respiratory Therapy listings

Listing-based score, 0–10, across 3,652 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.

  • On-site

Living in Lexington

Typical 3-bedroom home value
$314k
Typical market rent
$1,553/mo
Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
92.9
State income tax
Up to 4.5%
Sources & methodology

Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026).

BEA 2024 · Lexington-Fayette, KY metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.

City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.

Saint Joseph Hospital - Lexington logo

About Saint Joseph Hospital - Lexington

Hospitals and Health Care
Lexington, Kentucky
501-1,000 employees

Benefits & Perks

Sign-On Bonus up to $25,000
Educational Assistance (Student Loan Payback) up to $24,000
Health Insurance
Dental
Vision
Retirement Plan
Paid Time Off