In ten years' experience in the respiratory care units serving both medical and surgical patients, 18,077 consecutive patients received ventilatory support for 24 hours or more. The overall survival rate including all patients was 75.2%. Survival rate has not changed appreciably during the past five years. The respiratory care unit provides technical assistance and consultation to primary physicians of the medical and surgical services. This system of intensive respiratory care is flexible and applicable to general hospitals that treat large numbers of patients with acute respiratory respiratory failure.