The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009 - (Page 50)

University of Tennessee Program Rises Again by Kellie Rowden-Racette R ising like a phoenix from the ashes, the University of Tennessee’s Audiology and Speech Pathology Department (ASPD), slated for imminent closure a year ago, has landed a prestigious designation and will expand its treatment of brain injury in children. The Sarah Jane Brain Foundation has chosen the UT department to be one of 52 “Lead Centers of Excellence” for mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). The foundation announced lead centers in each state and in Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, for its National Pediatric Acquired Brain Injury Plan, designed to create a national network of centers that provide comprehensive, consistent care for brain injury. “We’re hoping it will be a way to expand our current clinical services and research,” said Kristen King, UT assistant professor, who wrote the application for the department. “And as a lead center, we want to provide a seamless system of patient care.” There is little or limited consistency in TBI treatment, and King said she hopes forming the lead center will help change that. “After the funding is in place, we hope to have more staff such as case managers and education and training coordinators,” she explained. Snagging this designation is a significant victory, considering the program’s gloomy outlook last fall (The ASHA Leader, July 15, 2008). On June 2, 2008, with no warning, the dean of the College of Arts and Sciences announced the entire department, including the university’s Speech and Hearing Center and its four associated community clinics, were to close as part of Gov. Phil Bredesen’s 2009 state budget cuts. The plan was to close the program within four years. Not only would the closure have exacerbated the existing regional crisis of clinical and doctoral shortages, but ending the department’s contracts with nine public school districts and its network of clinics would have left a deep dearth of services for regional consumers. And although faculty, staff, and students in the department came together to oppose the closure and won a temporary reprieve, the new nod from the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation gives the department the traction to hang on perhaps indefinitely. Ilsa Schwarz, department director, believes that the lead center designation will snowball into more recognition—and more funding—for the department. The new recognition “highlights the fact that when we were threatened with termination, people came out of the woodwork saying, ‘Don’t do it! We need these services!’” Schwarz said. Kellie Rowden-Racette, print and online editor for The ASHA Leader, can be reached at krowden-racette@ asha.org. Loan Forgiveness Advocacy Soars by Katie Bromley SHA grassroots advocates broke a new record in June, sending more than 2,500 messages to members of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of student loan forgiveness legislation. In an overwhelming June 19 response, ASHA members generated more messages to Congress than in response to nearly any other action alert since the ASHA grassroots program began in 2001. H.R. 2891, the Access to Front Line Health Care Act of 2009, would provide student loan forgiveness to audiologists and speech-language pathologists who commit to working in a health-professional shortage area for a minimum of two years. Because many ASHA members have student loan debt, this legislation was important to many, encouraging action. Members of the National Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association (NSSLHA) spearheaded a special push, using the “Tell-A-Friend” tool to send the alert to peers and soliciting additional responses. NSSLHA members used the function to send messages to more than 900 extra advocates, generating almost 800 additional actions. The “Tell-A-Friend” function, available to all online advocates, is a fast and easy way to alert friends and colleagues to an issue. After taking action on an alert (at www.asha.org/takeaction), scroll to the bottom of the page, where you will find fields to enter up to six additional e-mail addresses. Users also can enter a personal message to the recipients, letting them know the importance of taking action. Visit ASHA’s Take Action Web site today to sign up, learn more, take action, and “Tell a Friend.” Katie Bromley, director of grassroots and congressional advocacy, can be reached at kbromley@asha.org. August 11, 2009 http://www.TransMotionMedical.com http://www.asha.org/takeaction http://www.TransMotionMedical.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009

The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009
Contents
Four Members Elected to Board of Directors
Readers Respond
Audiology
Congress Begins Health Care Reform Debate
Medicare Private Practice Poses Concerns for Some SLPs
Custom Fit Your Marketing
Personal Music Players
From the President
Convention Preview
2010 Dues Change
Ethics in Private Practice
Missouri SLPs Win on School Retirement Issue
Classifieds
A Deluge of Human Kindness
First Person on the Last Page

The ASHA Leader - August 11, 2009