Marianjoy Rehabilitation receives grant for dysphagia treatment

Updated Technology to Provide Treatment for More Than 1,500 Patients Annually

The Tellabs Foundation has awarded Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital a grant of $100,000 for the Swallowing & Voice Center; one of seven centers in Marianjoy's Assistive Rehabilitation Technology Institute. The grant will meet a crucial need for Marianjoy to help treat over 1,500 individuals with dysphagia or swallowing difficulties each year.

An estimated six to ten million individuals in the United States are diagnosed with dysphagia; which can develop as a result of injury or illness. While millions of people are affected by this condition, treatment of dysphagia is a relatively new area in the field of medicine. The grant provided by the Tellabs Foundation will enhance evaluation and treatment of dysphagia through the use of updated C-Arm technology, an X-ray image intensifier that displays a live image on screen. It will also be used for recording equipment to more effectively observe the dynamic swallowing process.

"We are very appreciative of the Tellabs Foundation for its generosity in providing this grant," explains Kathleen Yosko, President and CEO of Marianjoy. "Marianjoy values its ongoing partnership with the Tellabs Foundation that helped us open our new inpatient hospital in 2006, establish AbilityLinks.org in 2001 to help people with disabilities gain employment, and is now helping to expand our Swallowing and Voice Center."

Aside from enhancing evaluation and treatment, the grant will enable the Marianjoy Swallowing Center clinicians to research new aspects of dysphagia. "The new technology gives our researchers the ability to evaluate, for example, whether combination biofeedback treatment promotes brain neural plasticity to relearn safe swallowing," notes Yosko. "The grant opens the door to educational and research opportunities that can be shared on local, regional, and even international levels."