Celebrating Janelle Smith: ASRC’s 2026 Practitioner of the Year

Respiratory Care Week 2026 arrives October 25-31, and we can’t think of a better reason to celebrate than the news out of Hot Springs this September. Each year, this national observance honors the respiratory therapists who keep our patients breathing easier, often during the most frightening moments of their lives. At Jefferson Regional, we’re fortunate to have more than a few of these dedicated professionals on our team.

This year, that celebration hits especially close to home. Janelle Smith, PFT Respiratory Therapist at Jefferson Regional, was named the 2026 ASRC Respiratory Care Clinical Practitioner of the Year by the Arkansas Society for Respiratory Care. It’s a well-earned honor that caps nearly five decades of service to patients, students, and the respiratory care profession across our state.

Janelle’s story is also a reminder of why advocacy matters just as much as bedside care. As an AARC PACT representative, she has carried the concerns of respiratory therapists and patients all the way to Washington, DC, including support for legislation like the SOAR Act, which could reshape how patients access oxygen therapy nationwide. Her award and her advocacy are two threads of the same mission, and during Respiratory Care Week, we want to pull both into the light.

Nearly 50 years of respiratory care, most of them at Jefferson Regional

The Arkansas Society for Respiratory Care honored Janelle on September 23 at its meeting in Hot Springs, recognizing a career that spans nearly 50 years. Most of those years have been spent right here at Jefferson Regional, where generations of patients and colleagues have come to know her steady hand and generous spirit.

Janelle’s path through respiratory care has taken her through some of the field’s most demanding and meaningful settings. She began her career at Children’s Hospital, worked in home health care, and today helps patients at Jefferson Regional’s lung function testing lab, guiding them through breathing tests that often mark turning points in their treatment.

Beyond direct patient care, Janelle has given her time and expertise to strengthen the profession as a whole. Her service includes:

• Past Treasurer of the ASRC Board of Directors
• Arkansas JR Delegate to the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) House of Delegates
• AARC PACT representative, advocating for respiratory therapists and patients in Washington, DC
• Program director and educator for the Respiratory Care program at SEARK College from 2009 to 2020

That stretch at SEARK College deserves its own spotlight. For eleven years, Janelle helped shape the next generation of Arkansas respiratory therapists, many of whom are now caring for patients throughout our own community. It’s the kind of legacy that multiplies itself, one student and one patient at a time.

During the award presentation in Hot Springs, one line captured exactly what Janelle means to her profession: “Arkansas respiratory care is stronger because of you.” We couldn’t agree more.

What is the SOAR Act, and why does it matter?

Janelle’s advocacy work connects directly to a piece of federal legislation that’s been gaining momentum: the Supplemental Oxygen Access Reform Act, better known as the SOAR Act (S. 1406 / H.R. 2902). This bipartisan bill has been championed by the AARC and its network of PACT representatives, including Janelle, who have lobbied lawmakers on behalf of patients who rely on supplemental oxygen.

At its core, the SOAR Act aims to fix a Medicare payment structure that hasn’t kept pace with the realities of oxygen therapy. Current reimbursement policies make it difficult for patients to access liquid oxygen, which many need for mobility and quality of life, and they limit the role respiratory therapists can play in ongoing patient care. The legislation also seeks to streamline documentation requirements that currently create unnecessary barriers between patients and the equipment they need.

The SOAR Act rests on four pillars:

1. An Oxygen Patient Bill of Rights, establishing baseline protections for patients who depend on supplemental oxygen.
2. A liquid oxygen add-on payment, addressing the Medicare reimbursement gap that has made liquid oxygen systems harder to access.
3. Integration of respiratory therapist clinical services, recognizing the expertise therapists bring to ongoing patient management.
4. Modernized electronic documentation, reducing paperwork delays that can leave patients waiting for equipment they urgently need.

For patients across Southeastern Arkansas, particularly those managing COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, or other chronic respiratory conditions, these changes could mean faster access to the oxygen therapy that keeps them active and independent. It’s a reminder that healthcare policy, as dry as it can sound, often determines whether a patient can take a walk with their grandchildren or make it through a flight of stairs.

How Janelle embodies the mission of respiratory care

It’s rare to find someone who has worked at every level of a profession, from treating the tiniest patients at Children’s Hospital to training the next generation of clinicians to advocating on Capitol Hill. Janelle Smith has done all three, and she’s done it with the same care and commitment Jefferson Regional patients have come to expect.

Respiratory Care Week exists to honor professionals like Janelle, who show up for patients not just during a single shift, but across a career that reshapes an entire field. Her work as a PACT representative illustrates something important: respiratory therapists don’t just manage symptoms at the bedside. They advocate for the systems and policies that make good care possible in the first place. The SOAR Act is proof that this kind of advocacy can turn into real, tangible progress for patients.

Congratulations, Janelle

Janelle Smith’s recognition as the 2026 ASRC Respiratory Care Clinical Practitioner of the Year reflects what so many of us at Jefferson Regional already knew: her impact reaches far beyond any single patient encounter. From the bedside to the classroom to the halls of Congress, she has spent nearly 50 years making Arkansas respiratory care stronger.

Please join us in congratulating Janelle on this well-deserved honor, and in thanking our entire respiratory care team at Jefferson Regional for the compassion and expertise they bring to our community every day. During Respiratory Care Week 2026, we’re proud to celebrate them all.