Summer Newsletter
We hope you’re all having a great summer so far! Since we welcomed Stacy Rathbone, MS, CFY-SLP to the team in May, we’ve been welcoming new patients and are excited by how many more patients in need of our services we’ve been able to serve.
New VitalStim Plus Device
I have been certified in VitalStim neuromuscular electrical stimulation for 3 years now and have seen some amazing results with my patients with dysphagia. I was so excited last year to learn that a new device was being developed with so many additional features that I was one of the first few people nationwide to pre-order the device. In June, I attended the training course launch in Orlando, and we are now one of the first 6 facilities nationwide to offer VitalStim Plus. VitalStim Plus features two extra channels compared to the original unit (e.g., you can stimulate both pharyngeal musculature and facial nerve simultaneously, for example, in the case of facial paresis post CVA and concurrent dysphagia), sEMG biofeedback (which is HUGE for teaching patients exercises and giving them a visual to gauge their effort level), and more customizable stimulation parameters making it even more effective for certain populations, such as those post head and neck radiation. We are very excited to have this new equipment (pictured here) and new modality to offer our patients!
New PPA Support Group
In other news, we have officially registered our new free primary progressive aphasia support group with the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, and the first meeting will be July 19 at 6:00pm at our office building. Monthly meetings will be every third Tuesday at 6:00pm. The group is open to both patients and caregivers/families. We are so excited to embark on this new community support program which was inspired by one of our current patients with PPA who expressed how misunderstood and alone she felt after receiving the diagnosis. PPA, and frontotemporal dementias in general, are widely misunderstood, and we are campaigning to change that. Visit our website ( www.tulsasnr.com) for informational resources.
MDA Team
SNR is a proud member of Tulsa’s new MDA care team which was launched in March by neurologist Dr. Eric Edgar. The monthly MDA Care Center provides an an all inclusive multi-disciplinary team approach for patients with ALS and other progressive neuro-motor diseases. The first few months of MDA have been very successful, and we’re looking forward to the growth of this exciting new resource in Tulsa!
Have a great summer! Stay cool!