Six respiratory care product manufacturers were recognized at the 2013 Congress of the American Association for Respiratory Care (AARC) on November 16-18 in Anaheim, Calif.

The AARC’s annual Zenith Awards were presented to Aerogen, Covidien, Dräger Medical Inc, Masimo Corp, Philips Respironics, and Teleflex Medical. This is the seventh consecutive year that Covidien has received the award, while Dräger (5), Philips Respironics (3) and Teleflex (2) are also consecutive winners.

The companies were chosen based on “the quality of their products, accessibility of their sales staff, responsiveness, service record, truth in advertising, and support of the respiratory care profession,” according to the AARC website.

“The Zenith Award is evidence of our dedication to creating the future of healthcare by developing innovations – partnering with clinicians – to improve patient care, provide better value, and expand access to care from the hospital to the home,” Randall Whitfield, general manager, Hospital Respiratory Care, for Philips Healthcare said in a press release.

Cary Vance, President, Anesthesia & Respiratory Division, for Teleflex, said the company was honored to be chosen for the award for the second year in a row. “We’re proud of the relationship we’ve built with our valued clinicians as we continue to share with the healthcare community our fundamental purpose: to provide outstanding service and practical innovation that serves to promote patient and provider safety,” Vance said in released statement.