Telespeech Program Closes the Gap from Allentown to East Stroudsburg

Thanks to technology, the distance between Good Shepherd’s Allentown campus and its site at Pocono Medical Center in East Stroudsburg seems to be growing smaller. The new Telespeech Program, using secure, two-way video-conferencing technology, similar to Skype, connects patients at Good Shepherd Rehabilitation at Pocono Medical Center with speech therapists at the main campus in Allentown. 

The Telespeech Program allows clinicians in Allentown to provide speech, language and cognitive evaluations as well as therapy services to inpatients at Pocono. The high-definition, interactive technology makes the patients feel like the therapist is in the room with them. Master’s level, certified and licensed speech-language pathologists (SLPs) perform the evaluations and therapy sessions, while a health-care professional sits with the patient at Pocono Medical Center to facilitate the technology and assist the patient with following the directions provided by the SLP.

Good Shepherd’s SLPs work closely with the patient’s entire treatment team, including family members, physicians, nursing staff, care management and physical/occupational therapists to define goals and achieve maximum results for every patient. Outcomes are measured by a short survey and functional independence measure (FIM) scores to ensure that each patient reaches his or her full potential.  These measurements have shown thus far that patients are reporting a positive experience and are pleased with their progress through the new program.  

The program is specifically designed for inpatients requiring speech, language, and/or cognitive evaluations/treatments. For those patients who require services for swallowing/eating disorders, or those who are inappropriate for Telespeech (based on criteria reviewed by the patients’ clinical team), on-site speech services are provided by SLPs at Pocono Medical Center.

Learn more about the Telespeech Program and Good Shepherd Rehabilitation at Pocono Medical Center.