Beebe offers speech-language therapies

Many people have heard about the child who visits a speech therapist because of lisp, stutter or some other speech problem. Speech therapists, however, also help people who suffer strokes or other neurological problems, such as Alzheimer’s disease, that hamper their ability to communicate.

“Speech-language pathologists can make a critical difference in how a patient is able to recover from a stroke or serious trauma,” said Graham Robbins, PT, director of Beebe Medical Center Rehabilitation Services.

Beebe Medical Center, which has continued to expand its outpatient and inpatient healthcare services in recent years to meet the needs of the community, now has a team of five certified speech-language pathologists (CCC/SLPs). Through a physician referral, patients can work with these professionals at the outpatient facilities in Rehoboth Beach, Millsboro and Millville, as well as at the main campus in Lewes. The speech-language pathologists also can work with patients in their homes through Beebe Home Health.

“There is so much that we can do to help patients struggling with voice-and-communication-related neurological and aging issues,” said Michele Poynton-Marsh, MA CCC/SLP, lead speech-language pathologist at Beebe Medical Center.

One example Poynton-Marsh cited was dysphagia, which is a difficulty in swallowing. “People often believe that it is just a common problem of aging, but that does not have to be the case. There are exercises and treatments that can help patients strengthen the muscles in their throats and so improve their swallowing that they are not afraid of choking or developing pneumonia.”

Speech-language pathologists also teach memory strategies that help patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. The pathologists work with the patients and their caregivers, and they also work with patients suffering from chronic neurological diseases - such as Parkinson’s disease - to help them communicate better.

Poynton-Marsh and Beebe Health Campus speech-language pathologist Holly Sullivan are currently taking part in a Beebe-University of Delaware partnership pilot study to determine whether a community-based exercise program could help patients with chronic physical disabilities maintain the goals they reached in their therapy programs. The two speech-language pathologists are treating Parkinson’s patients with a voice therapy that helps them increase the loudness of their voices so they can continue to communicate.

For more information on speech-language pathology, call 302-645-3235. The services are available through physician referral.