Dysphagia Program
What is Dysphagia? Dysphagia is when a person has difficulty swallowing due to a disease, condition, or surgical intervention.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Dysphagia can occur at different stages in the swallowing process: oral phase, pharyngeal phase or esophageal phase.
Sage Rehabilitation Outpatient/Day Neuro Program has a team of speech-language pathologists that are certified and trained in the most up-to-date and evidence-based swallowing therapeutic treatment methods.
Our speech-language pathologists can determine which program will address your individual patient needs so that you may continue eating the foods that you love.
There are a wide range of diagnoses that cause dysphagia symptoms which include:
- Stroke
- Parkinson’s disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Huntington’s disease
- Dementia
- Cancer
- Brain Injury
- ALS
Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES)
Sage Outpatient’s expanded diagnostic abilities now includes Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES). Sage’s speech language pathologists (SLP) are trained to evaluate and treat swallowing disorders, also known as dysphagia.
FEES is a well-established procedure used by SLPs to evaluate the pharyngeal stages of swallowing. Patients are seated in a functional position and are offered a variety of food and liquid consistencies mixed with food coloring to determine safe swallowing function.
Once the physician’s referral is received, a FEES procedure will be scheduled within 48 hours. The procedure can be viewed on a monitor and is recorded for further evaluation if necessary. The FEES procedure will result in the ability to review swallowing physiology and make appropriate diet and swallowing safety recommendations.
DYSPHAGIA PROGRAM
Our Dysphagia program provides a comprehensive range of therapeutic services to patients who have suffered such injuries, all customized to meet a patient’s individual needs and goals.
Services include, but are not limited to:
- Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation
- Visual Feedback during strengthening exercises to measure effort and facilitate goal oriented treatment
- Individualized Home Exercise Program training
- Compensatory strategy training
- Diet Modification
- Positioning recommendations
- Training with meal trials
Our speech-language pathology staff has several certifications and training as well as experience treating swallowing disorders in the neurologically affected population. We have therapists trained in:
- VitalStim Therapy: A safe, effective and non-invasive external stimulation for dysphagia
- Ampcare’s Effective Swallowing Protocol: a therapy program that involves intensive exercise in conjunction with neuromuscular stimulation to re-educate and strengthen swallowing muscles
- Intraoral Pressure Instrument (IOPI): a visual feedback tool that can measure the strength and effort of the lips and the tongue helping provide therapeutic goals for our patients
- Traditional Swallowing therapy methods: up to date and evidence-based therapeutic approaches that include swallowing exercises, diet modification, compensatory strategy training, and positioning recommendations
FIND OUT WHAT WORKS FOR YOU
PROGRAM CERTIFIED STAFF
Schedule Your Free Visit & Consultation
Qualified Specialists Dedicated to Your Care
Our team consists of many different professionals from several different disciplines. While they vary in what they treat and how they treat it, they all share one thing in common: commitment to your recovery.
Physicians, nurses, internal medical doctors, dieticians, physical, occupational, speech, and respiratory therapists – our team is more than just a team; we’re a family.
So when you come to us for help, that’s exactly how we treat you: like family.
Schedule a Tour of Our Facilities
We take pride in our ability to serve our patients anywhere they need it. If you’d like to come and visit our outpatient care, meet our staff, or ask us questions about our inpatient facilities, visit us and tour our community.
