The Chatham-Kent Health Alliance is celebrating its new enhancements in an area that helps patients eat and speak.
Dr. Nadine Yammine, who specializes in Laryngology, she says the ability to swallow and speak is something often taken for granted, so when one loses that ability it's often terrifying.
"Our patients are terrified when they're choking and they're loved one's are very distressed when they watch them choke," says Yammine.
The Dysphagia and swallowing assessment services requires new equipment which gives doctors a more in depth look at how patients swallow. This allows them to pinpoint where the problem is so they can develop a targeted strategy.
"Our clinic essentially does an assessment that uses new equipment that uses flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing," she says. "It involves a little endoscopic camera that's introduced in the nose and examines the throat and the larynx."
Yammine says helping patients eat and speak on their own can improve their quality of life and in some cases shorten their hospital stay.
"There's nothing more distressing for patients and their loved ones [than] to watch somebody choke," she says. "This clinic allows us not only to assess but provide them with the therapy that they need to avoid that."
In addition to the new equipment, Yammine says the CKHA has developed a team to provide these services. The team is made up of Yammine and a speech therapist. However, Yammine adds that nurses, dietitians and family doctors also play a crucial role in providing these services.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held on April 7 to officially celebrate the enhancements at the Chatham location.
-With files from Paul Pedro.
