Dr. Paul Enright is a well-known name in the field of Pulmonary Function testing. He is the lead author or co-author of over a hundred articles and has served on many of the ATS/ERS standards committees.

Introduction:

We both retired in southern Arizona and live a couple of towns apart from each other. We have corresponded for a while but met face-to-face only recently. We both drive small red vehicles, Richard a Ford Transit Van and Paul a Prius Compact. We both love to visit National Parks; Richard’s favorite is Canyonlands while Paul’s favorite is Jasper, with many large wild animals. This posting is based on a set of suggestions by Paul.

In which hospital-based PFT labs have you worked?

Richard: St. Elizabeth’s then Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, both in Boston.

Paul: I started a very small PFT lab at the Kuakini Hospital in Honolulu; then the basement lab of the National Jewish Hospital in Denver, Colorado; then the Plummer Building of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota; then the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona; then a NIOSH van running out of Morgantown, West Virginia.

Which is the largest PFT lab that you ever visited?

Richard: the PFT Lab at Mass General in Boston.

Paul: INER in Mexico City, where they test more than 10,000 patients per year. The medical director of the lab is my friend Laura G. One year a guard with a shotgun stood outside the lab because the payroll with bonuses for the institution was stolen the previous month (December).