Gibson Area Hospital Therapy Services
Awarded 2023 SPEAK OUT!®
Program Development Grant!
Gibson Area Hospital Therapy Services has received the Parkinson Project's SPEAK OUT! ® Program Development Grant for the 2nd year in a row! We are excited to continue growing our Parkinson SPEAK OUT!® Program, including LOUD Crowd® with the help of these grant funds!
Here are some important facts about this exciting grant and SPEAK OUT!® and LOUD Crowd.®
- Approximately 90% of people with Parkinson’s develop problems speaking, which can lead to isolation and reduced quality of life.
- Swallowing problems can occur in 40-95% of people with Parkinson’s, which can lead to weight loss, dehydration, malnutrition, and pneumonia.
- Speech therapy can improve both speaking and swallowing in people with Parkinson’s.
- Our LOUD Crowd® meets on Zoom once a week to help individuals with Parkinson’s maintain the improvements that they made in SPEAK OUT!® therapy.
- LOUD Crowd® is a free program.
- Second consecutive year GAH Therapy has received the SPEAK OUT Program Development Grant.
- GAH plans to grow Parkinson’s program in the outpatient setting with Kimberly Nelson Rusch, SLP leading Speech Therapy efforts.
- SPEAK OUT!® works in tandem with our Occupational Therapy Parkinson’s program.
- The grant provides SPEAK OUT!® training for two Speech-Language Pathologists and all SLP students.
- The grant is also paying for a year subscription to Zoom Pro to benefit our Loud Crowd.®
