American Heart Association
The American Heart Association grew out of a set of smaller precursor groups. The primary precursor was the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, formed in New York City in 1915, to study whether patients with heart disease could safely return to work. Several similar organizations formed or evolved in Boston, Philadelphia, and Chicago in the 1920s. Recognizing the need for a national organization to share research and promote findings, the American Heart Association was formed in 1924 by six cardiologists representing several of these precursor groups.
American Respiratory Care Foundation
The American Respiratory Care Foundation is a non-profit organization founded by the American Association for Respiratory Care formed to provide funding for research in the field of pulmonology and respiratory care. Formed in 1974 as the American Respiratory Therapy Foundation and then changed to the American Respiratory Care Foundation in 1986. The ARCF is a partner with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, who has awarded grants to the ARCF in order to help fund research directly related to asthma and asthma education.
The International Fellowship Program was established in 1990 as a method of expanding respiratory care practices internationally by inviting physicians and nurses among other health professionals to shadow respiratory therapists to observe the practice and application in medicine.