CEO Update: New pulmonologist brings cutting-edge lung care to CMH

CEO Update Growth
• 30 April 2025

Michael Calhoun, CEO/Executive Director of Citizens Memorial Hospital and the CMH Foundation: Dr. Jason Bailey is a new critical care pulmonologist at CMH. He sees patients at the CMH Pulmonology Clinic and also takes care of critical care patients in our ICU. He brings some new services to CMH that we haven’t previously had.

Bailey: I specialize in the lungs and lung pathology. Anyone who’s short of breath, whether it’s COPD, asthma or undiagnosed lung disease, I see them in the clinic. We do testing to try to figure out exactly why they’re short of breath. And then I also work in the critical care unit as a critical care intensivist. So anybody who’s on life support, anyone who’s real critical, I help get them better.

Continue reading the blog or watch the video to learn more about the Ion robotic bronchoscopy and Zephyr valve procedures.

Ion robotic bronchoscopy

Bailey: Ion robotic bronchoscopy has shape-sensing technology. We can reach the very difficult to reach places in the lungs, whether in the very periphery of the lung or even next to the heart in the great vessels. With this technology, we can navigate the airways to get to these lesions and biopsy them. The goal is to diagnose lung cancer at a very early stage so it’s more curable. When a spot on the lung is detected with screening CAT (computerized tomography) scans, the patient comes to me. We schedule an Ion robotic bronchoscopy procedure, navigate to that spot and biopsy it.

Calhoun: What would be some of the risk factors that you would think patients would want to consider if they’re concerned about the possibility of lung cancer?

Bailey: Being a smoker or if they have a family history of lung cancer, then they’re definitely at higher risk for lung cancer. For patients who have a long history of smoking for 20-plus years, we do screening CAT scans. When that screening CAT scan picks up on the spot, we biopsy it with the Ion. There are no incisions. It’s minimally invasive. It’s a very low-risk procedure.

Zephyr valves

Calhoun: Let’s talk about the Zephyr valves and what you can provide for patients with that service.

Bailey: COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) is a chronic progressive lung disease. It’s not curable. And because it’s progressive, patients tend to get worse. Usually, COPD is caused by smoking. There are also hereditary types of COPD, as well.

With COPD, we have breathing treatments. We have inhalers. But, really, inhalers only increase the lung function tests by maybe 3%. With the Zephyr valves, it’s doing a bronchoscopy and going in through the mouth down into the lungs. We can place these valves that can improve lung function by up to 30%, whereas inhalers can improve lung function by 3%.

Calhoun: I’m sure there are some criteria for who would be a good candidate for this procedure. Tell us a little bit about that.

Bailey: The procedure is approved for severe COPD and treats hyperinflation with COPD. It’s an obstructive lung disease, so patients have a hard time exhaling because they cannot get all their air out. Their lungs continue to get larger. It compresses the diaphragm, and the diaphragms don’t work well. That’s what contributes to their shortness of breath. The Zephyr valves replace these valves to reverse the hyperinflation.

Calhoun: This is a new procedure to CMH, but it’s not new to you. You’ve actually been doing this for a while. Tell us about an example of a patient story where this really made a difference in their life.

Bailey: I had a patient who had severe COPD issues. She heard about the Zephyr valves and was very interested in getting the Zephyr valve procedure.

She was a good candidate. Usually, I follow up with these patients a few weeks after the procedure. After I placed her Zephyr valve, she felt so good she ended up moving to Colorado. She no-showed for her follow-up appointment, and we called her to find out what happened. She’s like, “Oh, I felt so good, I moved to Colorado.” Before, she could not move to Colorado with her family because of the altitude.

Calhoun: That’s great. It just completely changed her quality of life with her family. I have family that has suffered from COPD and can personally attest to how any increments and improvement in breathing can make such a difference. But to move from 3% to 30% is life-changing. We really would encourage people if they have needs like this, to seek care because we have options available.

As you can see, at CMH we’re continually growing, adding services, new physicians and the latest technology. What Dr. Bailey is bringing to CMH into our communities is truly game-changing in terms of the level of care we can provide for patients with pulmonary disease or patients in our ICU (intensive care unit) needing critical care.

I’m really excited about having you on our team, Dr. Bailey. I’m excited about the care you provide. I’ve already heard patient testimonials about the great care you’re providing at CMH, and this is just another part of us continuing to evolve and grow to better take care of our communities in the future.

Michael Calhoun shares the latest happenings at CMH in his monthly CEO Updates. He is the CEO/executive director of CMH and the Citizens Memorial Health Care Foundation.