News
Beebe Medical Center Provides Innovative Therapy for Swallowing Disorders
04/24/08
Beebe Medical Center announces that its Speech-Language Pathology Department now provides an innovative and beneficial therapy to help patients with swallowing disorders.
VitalStim(r) Therapy is a procedure that employs controlled neuromuscular, electrical stimulation to strengthen the throat muscles used in swallowing. It is a safe and painless procedure and patients are awake during the 30-minute procedure. It has been approved by the FDA and is performed in an outpatient setting by a speech-language pathologist with special certification in this modality. Clinical trials have revealed that 80 percent of patients who been treated with VitalStim(r) Therapy have improved their swallowing function.
"We are very pleased to be able to offer this therapy to our patients here at Beebe Medical Center," says Michele Poynton-Marsh, Lead Speech-Language Pathologist. "This therapy will help us to improve the quality of life of so many of our patients who suffer from difficulties in swallowing due to a host of medical reasons."
An estimated 15 million Americans are affected by dysphagia, or, difficulties in swallowing, with possible causes that include brain injury, stroke and Parkinson's disease. More than 6 million Americans over the age of 60 suffer from dysphagia, which can lead to such complications as malnutrition, dehydration, pneumonia and asphyxia.
To learn more about VitalStim(r) Therapy, please contact our Speech-Language Pathologists at (302) 645-3235 and we will be happy to speak with you and set up a demonstration. The new therapy is performed at the convenient locations of the Beebe Health Campus on John J. Williams Highway (Route 24) in Rehoboth Beach, and at the Millville Physical Therapy Clinic on Atlantic Avenue. A physician's referral is required to set up an appointment for therapy.
Beebe Medical Center is a not-for-profit community medical center with a charitable mission to encourage healthy living, prevent illness, and restore optimal health with the people residing, working, or visiting in the communities we serve. For more information, please visit us online at www.beebemed.org
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