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Kootenai Health
Foundation,
through the generous gifts of community supporters, is helping to improve patient
care by investing in the continued education and training of Kootenai Health clinical staff.
“When we invest in the education of our own people, we increase levels of patient care, bring in new thinking
and innovative ways to treat patients, and help propel Kootenai Health forward in its strategic goal of becoming a
premier regional medical center,” said Britt Towery, Kootenai Health Foundation Manager.
G R A N T T O I M P R O V E O R A L M O T O R T H E R A P Y
Therapists at Kootenai Health Rehabilitation Services
work every day to help children and adults with oral-motor
disorders learn to speak, chew and swallow. Thanks to
donor gifts to the Foundation, Kootenai’s team of speech
language pathologists and occupational therapists has
expanded its therapeutic toolkit with a highly regarded—
and highly effective—technique.
The Foundation awarded the therapists a $17,500 grant
to bring the renowned Beckman Oral Motor Assessment
and Intervention training to Coeur d’Alene. Twelve Kootenai
speech language pathologists and occupational therapists,
along with four therapists from the surrounding area,
attended the intensive, two-day workshop last March.
“The Beckman Oral Motor training is well known nation-
ally in the speech and occupational communities,” said
Kimberlee Wassink, speech language pathologist. “We’ve
been wanting to take the course for years, but it doesn’t
come to the Pacific Northwest very often, so we asked the
Foundation for the funding we needed to bring it to us.”
The Beckman Oral Motor program is a hands-on therapy
technique that focuses on training muscles of the face,
lips, cheeks, tongue and throat for speaking and swallow-
ing. It is supported by the American Speech Language
and Hearing Association for its effectiveness in treating
oral-motor patients across their lifespan.
“One of the best things about this therapy is that it
can be applied across disciplines to improve outcomes
Kimberlee Wassink,
speech language
pathologist, works
with 2½-year-old
Teagan Bartoo at
Kootenai Health
Rehabilitation
Services.
Investing in
Clinical Excellence
D ONO R G I F T S E NH A N C E S TA F F E DU C AT I ON , S K I L L S
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