Words From Our CEO

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The State of Good Shepherd
Sally Gammon, President and CEO of Good Shepherd, addresses the Allentown Rotary on June 9, 2006

Good afternoon everyone. Thank you very much for inviting me to speak today.

This is somewhat of a homecoming for me. As many of you know, I used to be a member of this Rotary Club. I actually enjoyed it very much and I hope to one day get involved again, once things slow down a bit at Good Shepherd.

I was introduced to this group some years ago by one of its founding members, Dr. Conrad Raker. I’m sure many of you remember Connie. He was always so proud of this group and all you do in the community. I still remember when you would hold Casino Nights for the residents in the Raker Center. You’d set up tables with different games and the residents would rotate table to table and just have a ball.

So, I want to begin my remarks by thanking you for your community involvement, your commitment and all you’ve done for Allentown.

This afternoon, I’m speaking on the “state of Good Shepherd,” with a particular focus on the campus transformation that is underway. There are many ways to go about this, but I’d like to start by talking about the people whose lives are better off, who live with more independence and less pain, thanks to Good Shepherd.

Last fiscal year, Good Shepherd provided care to more than 36,000 people with a range of disabilities, both physical and mental, both short term and long term. People who have suffered sports injuries or brain injuries or strokes; children with developmental delays or adults with cognitive disorders; people with long-term disabilities like cerebral palsy or muscular dystrophy or multiple sclerosis. These are the sons and daughters, the fathers and mothers, the grandparents and friends and neighbors in our community.

In my nine years as the president at Good Shepherd, I’ve heard thousands of stories of triumph and hope. I’d like to briefly share two of those stories with you today, because, in my mind, it’s those personal stories that make Good Shepherd special.

You may remember John, a resident at the Raker Center in Allentown, who came and spoke to this Rotary Club with his voice synthesizer several years back. John has cerebral palsy. He was born with spasticity problems and he’s never been able to speak. He’s a quadriplegic with very little use of his arms or legs, so sign language or other forms of communication have been out of the question.

For the first few years of John’s life, his parents couldn’t communicate with him at all. He had no way to tell them when he was hungry or tired or scared. Throughout his youth, John had the same emotions and experienced the same feelings as everyone in this room – he had questions about things going on in the world and wanted to comment on his surroundings. But, unlike the people in this room, he couldn’t.

Eventually, John was fitted with a communication board that allowed an aide to interpret what he wanted to say. It was slow and sometimes arduous, but for John, it represented the start of freedom.

Now, John has been at Good Shepherd for 18 years and thanks to the inventory of assistive technology that Good Shepherd offers and thanks to a unique communication device, John can speak with the use of a computer. Simply by looking at a keyboard on a screen, his voice and his words are synthesized. He can converse with his nurses and therapists and family and friends. A man who was once seemingly trapped inside his own body can now speak with the help of technology. He has been given a level of independence and a level of function that he never thought possible. He has found freedom.

John is a success story. He shows how technology can help change and improve lives. And that is what the new Health & Technology Center, which is currently under construction, is all about. Good Shepherd staff recognized the link between assistive technology and freedom long ago and the Center is the next step toward connecting more assistive technologies with more people who most need them.

Some of those technologies give voice to the voiceless, some provide mobility to those who can’t walk on their own, and some help men and women who have suffered injuries or strokes get back to their lives with environmental controls and other assists.

The comprehensive inventory of assistive technology found at Good Shepherd cannot be found at other rehabilitation networks in the country. In fact, last year, several of us visited the Rehab Institute of Chicago, which is consistently ranked as the top rehabilitation facility in America by U.S. News & World Report. When we were there, their administrators actually told us that we – at Good Shepherd – are leading the way in the field of assistive technology.

And we’re proud of that. You can come to Good Shepherd to find a wheelchair that climbs stairs, you can come to Good Shepherd to find a technology developed by NASA to improve balance, and you can come to Good Shepherd to find a communication device developed by the Air Force, which is truly unbelievable.

It’s called the Eye Gaze System and it’s for people with severe disabilities who cannot speak and have limited, if any, use of their arms. They sit in front of a computer screen that emits infrared light. After the user calibrates the system by following a dot on the screen with their eyes, a keyboard appears. The user can then simply look at a letter on the screen and it will be typed. You think it would be time consuming, but I tried it and it isn’t. An advanced user of the Eye Gaze System can actually type several letters a second.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg with regard to the technology that is currently found throughout Good Shepherd and will soon be centralized at the Health & Technology Center.

A moment ago I said ‘men and women’ who have suffered strokes, because the vast majority of stroke patients are adults. But a teenager named Krista, who is 14 years old, also recently suffered a stroke.

We all know how difficult it is to be 14. But imagine how difficult it must be to be 14 and to have some of the effects of stroke to deal with: the weakness on one side of the body, the difficulty speaking or swallowing.

For Krista, dealing with the effects of stroke on a daily basis was her reality beginning last year. She began suffering fainting spells and violent headaches right around Thanksgiving. It wasn’t until Christmas Eve that she was diagnosed with Moyamoya disease*, a rare disorder. The symptoms that she was having were actually mini strokes.

Following two surgeries on her brain, Krista began receiving rehabilitation at Good Shepherd. She needed to learn to speak without a slur, she needed to rebuild her strength and she even needed to learn how to retie her shoes.

Krista’s story is, of course, unsettling. But, thankfully, it has a storybook ending. Following the surgeries and several months of rehabilitation, Krista was well enough to attend her 8th Grade Formal Dance last month. Next year, she’ll be entering the 9th grade with a challenging load of honors courses. She’s even decided that she may enter the medical field and become a physical therapist.

That’s what Good Shepherd is all about … people like John and Krista … people who come to Good Shepherd with certain physical or cognitive problems and find help and hope and independence. We’ve been providing independence since 1908, when the Rev. Dr. John and Estella Raker founded the Good Shepherd Home as a place for crippled children and the aged and infirm – which they were called at the time.

We have certainly come a long way since 1908, but some things never change. We’re still a faith-based organization, we’re still caring for those individuals who most need to be cared for and we’re still based right here in Allentown.

But we’re growing. The good work that Good Shepherd does has been recognized and many other communities throughout eastern Pennsylvania have been asking for our services. We’ve responded by opening new outpatient sites in communities throughout the area and operating inpatient facilities at several hospitals.

Good Shepherd now operates 27 sites in 7 counties throughout eastern Pennsylvania and all of our sites deal specifically with rehabilitation. That’s where we differ from acute-care hospitals: you go to an acute-care hospital when you’re ill to receive a diagnosis. Good Shepherd is where you go after you’ve been diagnosed. We help you live your life in spite of that diagnosis. And we’re very good at it, because all we do is rehabilitation.

So Good Shepherd is growing. We’re financially strong, we’re diversifying our business lines to remain competitive in the ultra-competitive health-care field and we’ve recommitted to and reinvested in Allentown.

Within the next two months, the Health & Technology Center will be open. It’s the culmination of a multi-year process that has seen us permanently close one block of an inner-city thoroughfare, reroute a state highway and build a leading-edge assisted independent living facility.

When this phase of our campus transformation project is all said and done, it will have resulted in a 45 million dollar investment in Allentown and it will have created 130 new, well-paying jobs. We believe in Allentown. We believe in the people who live in this community, the people who work in this community and the people who lead this community. That’s why we’ve chosen to make this investment in Allentown.

But the campus transformation project will not only result in economic impact, although that’s certainly a major part of it. This project is going to bring a state-of-the-art rehabilitation complex right here to Allentown. In mid-August, the new Health and Technology Center will be opening for business. I’d like to speak briefly about what you can expect to see in the new facility.

First, the new Center will house the Harry C. Trexler Center for Assistive Technology. This is where you’ll find some of the amazing technologies that I spoke about earlier ... like the device that allows John to communicate. This is where you’ll find those technologies that so impressed them at the Rehab Institute of Chicago.

The new Center will house the RJ Foundation Mobility Center, where people can be fitted for wheelchairs, ensuring that they are given the right device at the right time. With more than 150 companies in the world that produce wheelchairs, it’s important to ensure that each client has a custom device that is designed specifically for his or her body type and disability.

The new Center will house the KNBT Pediatric Assistive Technology Lab, where we’ll put the power of science to use for children with developmental and physical disabilities.

In fact, our entire pediatric department will move to the new Center, including the only developmental pediatrician in the region. Usually it’s a positive thing to say that your organization is the only one that can offer a particular resource in the market. But in this case, it’s quite sad because there is so much need that’s not being satisfied. Autism and other developmental delays are best treated when they are diagnosed and treated early in life. As of now, there is a many-month waiting list to get in to see our developmental pediatrician. That means that, by the time a parent recognizes that their child may have a problem, they have to wait several valuable months to see someone that can help. That is absolutely unacceptable and Good Shepherd is working to bring another developmental pediatrician on staff.

The problem, which is evident in communities throughout the world, is that there aren’t enough developmental pediatricians available – only about 300 in the country - and this service loses money for the organizations that offer it. It takes time to diagnose autism and many of the patients cannot afford the expensive treatment. In fact, developmental pediatricians are only paid cents on the dollar and only charitable organizations like Good Shepherd or university-based health systems can offer and subsidize these services. But the Good Shepherd Board sees this as our responsibility and our mission and we will continue to subsidize this area and look for better ways to provide this service to more people in the Lehigh Valley.

Last year, Good Shepherd provided 4.8 million dollars in charitable care – that’s about 5.5% of our total budget – much of which went to subsidize our pediatrics department. Our Board of Trustees and our staff are and will continue to be committed to this type of charitable care.

Now, I know that many of you like to golf. In September, you all have a chance to help us raise dollars for these much-needed pediatric services. At that time, we’ll be holding our annual Celebrity Golf & Tennis Classic at Saucon Valley Country Club. All proceeds benefit the Good Shepherd Pediatrics Department. If you’re able, I hope you can join us this year.

But, back to the Health & Technology Center.

In addition to the assistive technology and the pediatrics department, the Center will be home to a wheelchair-accessible radiology lab, outpatient neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation, our adaptive driving program, a fitness center for people with disabilities, a new warm-water aquatherapy pool and more.

Perhaps one of the most interesting components of the Center is the introduction of a new concept – Rehability, Your Optimal Living Store. As the name indicates, this is a store … but it’s much more than just a retail center. Rehability is a gateway to better living for people with disabilities and their families, and for senior citizens who need assistance with everyday tasks.

At Rehability, you will find as many as 3,500 products and services that help facilitate a better lifestyle. People with disabilities can purchase high-end accessories for their wheelchair or products that help them with their personal needs in daily living.

But that’s not all. As we get older, some of the things that we used to take for granted become a bit more difficult, like reaching for a can on a high shelf or bending over to put on your shoes. At Rehability, senior citizens can buy products to help make their lives easier, like a reacher or a specially designed spoon or an electric scooter.

This is going to be the only place in the country where all of these resources and products can be found in one area. Rehability will do for the disabled community what the Home Depot did for people who like to fix things. And, just like the Home Depot has people in orange aprons to help you find the perfect tool or paint color, Rehability will have certified physical and occupational therapists on staff to help each customer find the right product for his or her special need.

As I said earlier, the Health & Technology Center will be opening for business in mid-August. And Good Shepherd’s other 27 sites are open as we speak and are ready to help if you ever need inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation care. So, if you are ever in that situation, tell you doctor that you’d like to receive rehabilitation at Good Shepherd and I commit to you that you’ll receive the best care by the best people using the best technology in the region.

And even if you don’t need rehabilitation, we’d like you to come to Good Shepherd on October 13, when we celebrate the grand opening of our new campus with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Come and join us, explore the new Center, stroll through the gardens that will be replacing the stretch of St. John Street that was closed, and help us to christen the campus.

Years ago, I was a physical therapist. When I look at the techniques and the technologies available to therapists today, I am absolutely amazed. I’m amazed at the depth and breadth of technology available. I’m amazed at how far the rehabilitation industry has come. There are more than 50 million Americans that have a disability and now, more than ever, they can achieve unprecedented independence and a quality of life that those who came before them could never have imagined.

Because the state of the rehabilitation field presently so far exceeds its past, I cannot wait to see what the future holds. And I am so proud to work for an organization like Good Shepherd that is leading the way in the use of technology in rehabilitation, leading the way in providing a comprehensive continuum of care to its patients and clients, and leading the way in building better lives for people like John and Krista. Leading the way, because the Raker family instilled innovation as part of Good Shepherd’s legacy.

Thank you very much for your attention today.

*What is Moyamoya Disease?
Moyamoya disease is a rare cerebrovascular disorder caused by blocked arteries at the base of the brain. The name “moyamoya” means “puff of smoke” in Japanese and describes the look of the tangle of tiny vessels formed to compensate for the blockage. The disease primarily affects children, but it can also occur in adults. In children, the first symptom of Moyamoya disease is often stroke, or recurrent mini-strokes, frequently accompanied by muscular weakness or paralysis affecting one side of the body, or seizures.