A tracheostomy is an artificial airway characterized by a surgically made incision that passes through the anterior neck and into the trachea. A tube is placed inside the hole created by the incision to provide a patent airway for an individual with impaired respiratory function to breathe. Approximately 100,000 tracheostomy procedures are performed annually in the United States. The burden of cost for tracheostomy patients in the United States related to the duration of hospital stay for these patients is a major factor that has contributed to the resurgence of interest in the management of tracheostomy patients. According to data from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), in 2009, the average length of hospital stay for a tracheostomy patient was 29 days. In 2013, an analysis of data on patients with acute respiratory failure from 90% of the non-profit academic medical centers in the United States revealed high resource utilization and high morbidity rates for tracheostomy patients. The analysis also revealed that tracheostomy patients with acute respiratory failure had on average, a longer intensive care unit stay (24.3 days) than non-tracheostomy patients with acute respiratory failure (6.6 days). Mean hospital stay was also higher for tracheostomy patients (36.6 days) than non-tracheostomy patients (11.3 days). Moreover, on average, the total hospital cost for tracheostomy patients was $285,509 and $ 86,118 for non-tracheostomy patients.