September Newsletter 2009

Consultants in Dysphagia Evaluation and Management
817-514-MBS1 or 1-888-514-MBS1
September 2009
Clinical Café Newsletter

Happy Labor Day!
Happy Grandparents day! Hug a grandparent this month!
By: Ronda Polansky M.S. CCC-SLP

Monthly Motivator:
People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
~ Zig Ziglar

Ethics Course – WOW! What a turn out!
Wish I could say it was because of us, but I know everyone’s desire to get their 2 hours of Ethics before December! Ha! The course was sold out in 1 week. It was good to see everyone. We are considering a repeat course, as we had over 30 people still on the cancellation list. We have no definite plans or dates yet. Texas now requires 2 hours of Ethics CEU’s, and the deadline for getting these 2 hours will be December 2009.

Upcoming Holiday – DiagnosTEX will be closed on Labor Day, Monday September 7, 2009. Please consider this when scheduling. Enjoy the holiday!
History of Labor Day – Labor Day is a national legal holiday that is over 100 years old. Over the years, it has evolved from a purely labor union celebration into a general “last fling of summer” festival. It has come to be recognized in the U.S. not only as a celebration of the working class, but even more so as the unofficial end of the summer season. In March 1887, the first state law to declare the day a legal holiday was passed in Colorado, followed by New York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. In 1894 the U.S. Congress made the day a legal holiday. Labor Day is the celebration of the value and dignity of work, and its role in the American way of life.

Home Health
Our Home health business has picked up a lot. Home healths are one of the more complex and time consuming locations we service on many levels, from obtaining the required paperwork, scheduling the MBSS, travel to the home, and the family. Due to the increasing number of home health patients we are seeing, we will have to enforce the policy that we must have in hand ALL required paperwork before the study will make our pending list to be scheduled. We will attempt to schedule 3 times with the patient/family and if we arrive at the location and the patient refuses the study, refuses to exit the home or get out of bed, a charge of $150.00 will be billed for our time, and travel to the location. Also, when filling out the Consult requested history form, please place the number and home address of the patient on that form, not the Home health agency. The more information and paperwork we have that is complete and correct the timelier the study will be scheduled. And as with any other study we schedule, it will be based on the geographical area we are servicing on any particular day. If the family or patient needs a specific time of day or day of week, you may want to encourage them to go to an outpatient facility such as a hospital. Mobile allows for the convenience of us coming to you, but not scheduling for particular time of day or day of the week.

Dates to remember in September
13th – National Grandparents day www.grandparents-day.com
30th – National Women’s Health and Fitness day www.fitnessday.com
13th-19th – National Assisted Living Week – www.nalw.org
21-27th – National Rehabilitation Awareness week – www.nraf-rehabnet.org
Healthy Aging Month – www.healthyaging.net
Alzhiemer’s Memory Walk (September-November) – www.alz.org

Government Healthcare Plan
I am sure you have heard the controversies and issues behind the proposed Obama Administration Healthcare Plan. I highly encourage everyone to contact their Senators and Representatives about your concerns. They need to hear from us, all of us! You can go to the ASHA website and locate your constituents in your county and get their emails and address. http://takeaction.asha.org/asha2/officials/congress/?district=12&azip=76179&state=TX
Do Not Delay! Do this for your aging parents, aging patients as well as your children and yourselves! If you are interested in a form letter, please let us know and we can get you one. Please get involved! You may also want to visit the website www.defendyourhealthcare.us for up to date information on healthcare reform.

Upcoming CEU course in Dallas, Texas (actually Westlake, Texas) October 16-18 – Dysphagia in the Elderly (15 Contact hours) sponsored by Northern Speech Services.

In honor of Jerry’s Kids and Labor day weekend Telethon
Dysphagia Tidbit – OPMD
The OCULO-Pharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy (OPMD) is a late onset hereditary muscle disease which is characterized by the selective affection of the pharyngeal muscles resulting in swallowing disorders, and by a ptosis from the dysfunction of the levator palpebral superiors muscles. Swallowing disorders are determinant in the prognosis of the disease, and potentially life-threatening deglutition, due to aspiration and denutrition. Degenerative dystrophy of the pharyngeal muscles causes difficulties to propel the food bolus in the pharynx, and the decreased relaxation of the cricopharyngeal muscle induced by the disease leads to blockage of food in the upper esophageal sphincter. The most common treatment for the dysphagia in OPMD is a myotomy of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles. However, although this will relax the constriction of the upper esophageal sphincter muscles and improve transitory the swallowing, it will not prevent the progressive degradation of the pharyngeal muscles. This progressive loss of contractility will eventually result in aspiration and severe difficulty in swallowing, increasing risk of aspiration pneumonia and severe weight loss which are the most common causes of mortality in OPMD patients.