Gwynedd Mercy University's Respiratory Care Program Receives Apex Award from the American Association for Respiratory Care

For the second consecutive two-year cycle, Gwynedd Mercy University’s Respiratory Care program has received the prestigious Apex Award given by the American Association for Respiratory care (AARC). The Apex Award was created in 2017 to recognize programs that demonstrate best practices within the field of respiratory care to deliver high-quality patient care.

GMercyU is one of 10 recipients across 466 respiratory care programs in the nation to receive the Apex Award. In addition, GMercyU’s Respiratory Care program is the only program in Pennsylvania, and one of five in the country, to receive both the Apex Award and the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care’s (CoARC) Distinguished RRT Credentialing Success Award, which is presented to programs that achieve a 90% pass rate on the RRT exam and meet several other requirements.

“Receiving the Apex Award from the AARC is a testament to the hard work of our faculty members and students within the Respiratory Care program,” shared GMercyU’s Respiratory Care Program Coordinator Randy Solly, MS, RRT, RPFT, AE-C. “Only 2% of programs across the nation receive this award, and we are honored to be one of them.

Since 2016, GMercyU’s program boasts a 100% final pass rate on the CRT exam, a >90% pass rate on the RRT exam, and 100% of the Class of 2024 secured jobs before graduation. GMercyU offers both an Associate in Respiratory Care degree and our Bachelor of Health Science in Respiratory Care degree.

In 2024, GMercyU and St. Luke’s University Health Network launched the St. Luke’s Scholars Program to provide up to $100,000 in tuition funding to select students who want to launch their Respiratory Therapist careers at a designated St. Luke’s health network location. In return for a three-year work commitment, GMercyU respiratory care students will receive up to $26,000 in forgivable tuition funding from St. Luke’s, plus up to $84,000 in scholarship funding from GMercyU. This innovative program will help address an urgent need for more highly-skilled respiratory therapists in the region.