Ask a patient at The Medical Center about Warren Casada and you might get a blank look.
But ask for “Doogie Howser” and there may be a glimmer of recognition.
“A guy I went to respiratory school with started calling me that,” said Casada, who bears a resemblance to the show’s star, Neil Patrick Harris, and wears a stethoscope with a small tag that reads “Doogie.”
Casada has worked at the hospital as a registered respiratory therapist for nearly 20 years. He helps people who have problems related to the respiratory system. The number of patients he sees can vary from 15 to 20 when he’s working on the floor to one-on-one when he’s running tests.
“Anyone we see here has a breathing problem, but other things can come into play, like automobile accidents or cancer,” he said.
Casada was recently named Ambassador of the Month, which is nominated by the hospital staff.
“This is the second time I’ve received it,” he said. “The first time was in 1993.”
His desire to study something related to medicine started in high school.
“I wanted to do something to take care of everybody,” he said. “I started at (Western Kentucky University) for the pre-physical therapy program.”
A conversation with a friend who was working at The Medical Center changed his mind.
“(Respiratory therapy) seemed like an interesting thing to do,” Casada said.
Casada graduated from Bowling Green Technical College in 1991 and got certification. He worked part time at T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow and The Medical Center before landing a full-time job at The Medical Center. There was also a period of time where he worked in home health.
“I went to people and took care of their medical equipment,” he said. “I got to see patients at home. I did it for eight years.”
Over the years, there have been various changes, especially in technology, Casada said. Now, many types of information can be sent with the push of a button.
“Everything was on paper. You had to walk everything over,” he said. “Now the hospital has gone to mostly computers.”
His favorite aspects of his career are the patients and his co-workers.
“I enjoy the patients. Everybody has a story. I really enjoy taking care of people. I have a great bunch of people to work with. You’ve always got people to call on.”
