MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital Emphasizes the Importance of Lung Health

ROCKPORT, ME — Lung health plays a vital role in daily life, influencing energy levels, heart function, sleep quality, mental well-being and more. Yet, changes in a person’s breathing often go unnoticed until they become serious.

“The worst thing you can do is ignore changes to your breathing,” said Suzan Collins, lung

health educator for all of MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital’s primary care practices, including family medicine, internal medicine and pediatrics. “If you’re finding it harder to do the things you normally do, talk to someone. Early awareness and action can make all the difference in your lung health.”

“If you can’t breathe, nothing else matters,” Collins said. “Changes in lung function are subtle—until they’re not. People often assume shortness of breath is just from gaining a few pounds or being out of shape, but it can signal something more significant.

Early warning signs are easy to dismiss, but over time, they can progress into serious—and surprisingly common—conditions such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Environmental factors also play a role. “Air quality, dust, fragrance, heating sources—even carpets and cleaning products —can affect how well you breathe,” Collins said. “It’s about being aware of your environment and taking steps to protect yourself.”

Collins also emphasizes the emotional side of lung health.  “The biggest misconception is that its someone’s fault,” she said. “People think, ‘I smoked,’ or ‘I’m overweight,’ and that blame creates anxiety, which can make breathing even harder. It is not your fault. What matters is being proactive and informed.”

At MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital, primary care patients can be connected with Collins following a conversation with their primary care provider.  Collins is one of three advanced practice respiratory therapists within MaineHealth—a role that blends clinical expertise, patient education and research.

She works on-on-one with patients in their primary care offices, reviews lab results and collaborates closely with providers to determine the best care plan. She assesses and educates patients on effective inhaler techniques, teaches breathing exercises, identifies triggers and offers strategies to reduce environmental exposures at home, work and school. If additional support is needed, she connects patients to resources such as anxiety management, diagnostic testing, specialists and even services for mold and mildew removal or medication access.

Collins’ work at MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital began with asthma care, where her efforts led to measurable results reported by the Maine Asthma Prevention and Control Program. Adults in the MaineHealth Asthma Grant Program at MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital saw an 82% drop in emergency visits, while children’s visits in the group fell 88%. Hospitalizations dropped by more than 65% and nearly two-thirds of the patients moved from uncontrolled to well-controlled asthma.

Building on this success, her role now supports patients with a variety of respiratory diseases, offering proactive lung health screenings, pulmonary function tests and individualized evaluations. This approach helps patients manage symptoms effectively and enjoy a better quality of life.

Community members who are not MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital patients can still benefit from lung health services by attending one of the Coastal Communities Better Breathers Group meetings offered through the hospital:

• Adult Better Breathers Group meets on the third Wednesday of each month from 10 to 11 am in the MaineHealth Charlotte & Christopher Beebe Health Center first floor conference room at 15 Anchor Drive in Rockport, ME
• Kicking Asthma Youth (ages 7 to 11) meets the second Wednesday of each month from 6 to 7 pm in conference rooms C and D on the ground floor of the MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital Physicians Building at 4 Glen Cove Drive in Rockport, ME
• Teens Kicking Asthma Breathe Well Group (ages 12 to 17) meets on the third Wednesday of each month from 6 to 7 pm in conference rooms C and D on the ground floor of the MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital Physicians Building at 4 Glen Cove Drive in Rockport, ME

For more information, or to register for one of the sessions, email Suzan.Collins@mainehealth.org.