Innovative evaluation tool finds home in Henry County

ABBEVILLE - The Henry County Health and Rehabilitation Facility has received a new, innovative evaluation tool to benefit patients with swallowing disorders.

For many years, Jenna Rogers, MS,CCC-SLP, speech language pathologist with the Henry County Health and Rehabilitation Facility, has worked with many stroke patients and others suffering with swallowing difficulties. Although the facility would perform certain monitoring and testing on the patient, if more testing was needed to benefit the patient, they would be transported to a local hospital.

Today, with the new Strobocam II by JEDMED, with the capabilities of performing FEES (Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow), patients suffering from swallowing difficulties will benefit tremendously.

“This equipment will allow me to examine a resident’s throat before and after they swallow,” Rogers said. “In the past, if a resident required a swallow study or modified barium swallow, it would require the resident to be transported via ambulance to a hospital approximately 30 minutes away. They would have to wait for their scheduled testing time, be transferred into a small chair, where they would sit on a seat to get a black and white five-minute glimpse of their swallow.
“This procedure requires the resident to swallow different food consistencies mixed with barium, which would then be studied by a speech language pathologist and a radiologist through x-ray. The troubling factor of this is the residents that require such a test are generally very weak and are bed-bound. The trip, along with the testing, completely exhausts the resident, which can play a factor in the testing outcomes.”

The FEES will allow Rogers to place a small scope in the patient’s nose and then down into the throat. A small amount of anesthetic may be placed in the resident’s nose prior to the procedure, however, it is not necessary. The scope is attached to a light source and a camera so the study can be recorded. The procedure can be performed before, half way through and after completion of treatment to document the resident’s progression. If further treatment is necessary the DVD can be sent with the patient to their physician for review and treatment.

“We are very pleased that we can offer this procedure to our patients,” said Lawton Ed Armstrong, CEO of the Henry County Health and Rehabilitation facility. “By the facility being able to serve our patients with this machine we have not only took a burden off our patients by eliminating transporting them to a hospital, we have also eliminated a large burden off their family as well. When we transport a patient their family must be notified and present. It also eliminates the facility sending staff members with the patient when transported. It is really a huge benefit. I want to personally thank the Henry County Health Care Authority for purchasing this equipment. It is truly a huge benefit to not only us but to the community as well. With this equipment the local physicians office here in Abbeville can send patients to us to help evaluate them as well.”

The facility is also planning in the future to open an outpatient rehabilitation center. This machine will also be available to those patients as well.

The facility is also planning to work with nearby communities to serve individuals that may benefit from the equipment as well.
“I want to thank the facility for allowing me to receive specialized training received from Boston University Medical Center,” Rogers said. “Susan Langmoore was the instructor for the training. She developed this method of testing gin 1988. She is a strong advocate of pulling speech therapist into the EMT field by broading their horizons. I believe by participating in this training and helping our patients as well as others, I am helping her achieve her goal.”

The Henry County Health and Rehabilitation Facility is the only skilled nursing facility in the Wiregrass area to offer this new in-house evaluation system that is more convenient and advanced than the usual swallow study method.

For more information about services offered and the Henry County Health and Rehabilitation Facility visit http://www.HCNH.net or call 585-2241.