Telepractice Task Force

Telepractice Resource Links

4th Telepractice Task Force Meeting: October 25, 2012 (7 attendees)
Actions Items:  general statement was written to be forwarded to PSHA Executive Board for review; members to review Wisconsin Position Statement and provide feedback to the group; work to get other groups involved such as PDE or State School Board; two articles on telepractice to be published in upcoming Keystaters;  Telepractice Panel Discussion offered for PSHA Convention; possibility of training modules and webinars on telepractice and guidelines

Update from March 29, 2012 Meeting at PSHA Convention

Progress on goals: Telepractice goals and links to ASHA information have been placed on PSHA website.
New Task Force members have joined
Licensure: currently to engage in telepractice, the professional must be licensed in the client’s state. No definite response about telepractice has been obtained from PDE.  Currently, no regulations to prohibit telepractice in PA.  Task Force will work on Position Paper on Telepractice and reach out to various stakeholders with this information.
Reimbursement:  currently no notice about Medicaid reimbursement, but Leader has lost the contract in Pennsylvania and there will be a new vendor from NJ.

Telepractice Task Force Initial Call Minutes
The following is a summary of the initial call with the Telepractice Task Force. These are some of the working goals we discussed:

Educate professionals on the topic of telepractice; link to ASHA resources from PSHA website.

Forthcoming information and training may include:

• Fact sheet
• Webinars
• Journal articles

Develop a list of current issues/questions about the practice of telepractice in Pennsylvania.

Assign current task force members to address questions regarding: licensure, billing/Medical Assistance, technology, materials, training

SLP Task Force

Minutes from the ABA and SLP Task Force - Meeting #2

Minutes from the ABA and SLP Task Force - Meeting #3

Dysphagia Task Force

Dysphagia Task Force pshadysphagia@gmail.com

Interested PSHA members are invited to send questions/concerns to the Dysphagia Task Force.

Following are the bios' for the current Dysphagia Task Force

Cesar Ruiz, SLPD., CCC-SLP, BRS-S is an Associate Professor at La Salle University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is also Board Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. Dr. Ruiz’s clinical appointments include the Philadelphia VA Hospital, and the Ear Nose Throat Association of Chester County (ENTACC). He is an adjunct doctoral professor and dissertation chair at Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His experience includes speech and swallowing rehabilitation following Head & Neck Cancer, as well as other dysphagia, and voice disorders patients, He has published and presented nationally and internationally.

Erin Knoepfel, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-S, is the Director of Clinical Services in Speech Language Pathology for Genesis Rehab Service (GRS). She is an adjunct professor at Marywood University where she teaches Dysphagia at the graduate school level.  Erin is Advisor to the GRS Dysphagia Special Interest Group and is a member of ASHA’s Special Interest Group #13- Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders. She has over 22 years of extensive experience in the areas of assessment and treatment of swallowing and swallowing disorders with patients across the life span. She has presented at the local, state and national levels in the area of Dysphagia. Erin is a Board Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders.

Irina Brailovski, MS, CCC-SLP, BRS-S is a Board Recognized Specialist in Swallowing and Swallowing Disorders with over 20 years of experience. She is working full time as a Speech Pathologist/Master Clinician for Genesis Rehab Services as well as Abington Memorial Hospital on a PRN basis. She is currently a doctoral candidate enrolled in the SLPD program at Nova Southeastern University, Florida. Her work focuses on geriatric dysphagia patients in long term care as well as a variety of dysphagia patients in acute care and home care setting. She also provides training and education to clinical fellows and Master’s level students in the long term care environment. As a member of the Genesis Dysphagia Interest Group, Irina has presented on a variety of dysphagia related topics.   She has been a member of the Dysphagia Committee in PA until 2008 and is currently the chair of the Dysphagia Task Force in PA.

James L. Coyle, PhD., CCC-SLP, BRS-S. Dr. Coyle is an Assistant Professor of Communication Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh where he teaches Head and Neck Anatomy, Dysphagia, Medical Speech-Language Pathology Doctoral Research Seminars, as well as training Master’s level students in the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  He also provides continuing education nationally and internationally to Speech Language Pathologists seeking advanced knowledge and skills in management of swallowing disorders in adults.  He is a member of the Specialty Recognition Board for Swallowing and Swallowing, has co-authored several peer reviewed studies including investigations validating and establishing the reliability to the Penetration Aspiration Scale.  He reviews manuscripts for Dysphagia, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The Journal of Speech Language and Hearing Research, Gerontology, Folia Phoniatrica et Logopaedica,  and other journals. His clinical practice at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for the past 13 years has focused on oropharyngeal dysphagia assessment and management in adults in acute care hospitals of the Medical Center, ambulatory outpatients and nursing home residents with a variety of neurogenic etiologies, head/neck cancer, iatrogenic conditions and trauma. 

Jill Seidman, MA, CCC-SLP is a speech-language pathologist and supervisor of speech and hearing support services at the Bucks County IU #22. She has a worked in a variety of settings including Easter Seals of Lower Bucks County, BARC and Woods Services. She has provided feeding therapy to children in early intervention settings for many years and currently supervises the feeding team at Bucks County IU.

Judith F. Hengst, MA, CCC-SLP has been working in the field of speech and language for over 30 years.  She has worked with preschool, elementary, middle school and high school students in public & private school settings, and with adults in nursing home settings.  She was a member of a team who developed a feeding protocol for the Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia Counties Easter Seal Society.  In addition, she assisted in designing the feeding protocol for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU # 22)  developing teams of OT's and SLP's designated as  assessment teams.  She has presented the feeding protocol at ASHA, PSHA, NESHAP and various school districts in Bucks County.  In addition, she has consulted with other Intermediate Units who have been interested in developing feeding protocols.  Judith has  worked with the Bucks County Intermediate Unit as an SLP in the preschool department,  and has been the Special Education Supervisor for the Speech Department, Special Education supervisor for the Autistic Support Program and currently is the Director of Autistic & Multiple Disabilities Support Services and Nursing Services.  

Katie Hein, MS, CCC-SLP. I currently work as a feeding specialist at an Outpatient Pediatric Rehabilitation Facility in York Hospital.  I work with children ranging in ages from birth to 15 years.  As part of our feeding clinic, we complete multidisciplinary feeding evaluations with the participation of an Occupational Therapist, Certified Dietitian, and Speech-Language Pathologist.  In addition, we have a Pediatric Gastroenterologist who acts as a consult for our feeding team.  I am currently certified in pediatric neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), am formally trained in Sequential Oral Sensory Feeding Approach (SOS), and have over 130 hours of continuing education in the areas of fragile infant feeding and pediatric feeding.  I complete pediatric modified barium swallow studies at York Hospital for children ages premature infants to 15 years of age.  In addition to working in outpatient pediatrics, I  also provide feeding services in our Level III NICU.

Margaret Payne Shafer, MA, CCC-SLP is Manager of Speech Pathology Services at Abington Memorial Hospital.  She has worked continuously in multiple healthcare and educational settings over the past 35+ years. While at Montgomery County Intermediate Unit, she saw alternative kindergarten through grade 12 regular education and special needs students.  She also provided services to medically fragile S/PMR homebound residents at Lynch Home.  In healthcare, she has worked in both acute and inpatient rehab settings, SNF, homecare and outpatient.  She has multiple certifications for swallowing and voice including L-M RVT, LSVT, VCT, Alaryngeal Speech Instructor and CPR instructor for both healthcare providers and families of dysphagic patients.  Her special interests include dysphagia- NICU through Geriatrics, cervical auscultation and instrumental exams, comorbidities and impact on decision-making in the medically complex patient, trach/vent, HANC, neuropathology and end of life care.  As part of her present responsibilities, she lectures and trains medical residents, attending staff, professional nurses and students.  Abington has an active graduate level practicum site and offers a one year clinical fellow program to allow experience in acute care, inpatient rehab, outpatients from preschool through adult and videofluoroscopy.  She maintains a clinical caseload in addition to her supervisory and administrative responsibilities.

Pamela Smith, PhD received a bachelor's degree from Kutztown University, Master's degree from Ohio University, and Ph.D. from Temple University.  She is an associate professor at Bloomsburg University where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in Speech-Language Pathology, including Acquired Disorders, Psycholinguistics, and courses in swallowing. She advises graduate and undergraduate student research projects and is an undergraduate academic advisor. She is also a co-advisor for Bloomsburg University’s NSSLHA Chapter.  Dr. Smith holds privileges in the Department of Radiology, Allied Health, at Geisinger Bloomsburg Hospital where she provides videofluoroscopic swallow studies. Dr. Smith’s research interests are in language processing in adults, normal and disordered swallowing in adults, and clinical training issues. She presents research findings in local, national and international conferences and has published her research in journals such as Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research, Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, Journal of Medical Speech-Language Pathology, and Aphasiology. She is an active member of ASHA’s Special Interest Groups in Swallowing/swallowing Disorders and Gerontology, and is editor of the Perspectives newsletter for the Gerontology group.

Randy Dubin, MA, CCC-SLP is the Speech Pathology Team Leader for Good Shepherd Penn Partners.  He has worked in multiple settings including SNF, outpatient, acute rehab, LTACH and acute care.  He currently evaluates/treats patients at The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Specialty Hospital (LTACH).  He specializes in the management of speech and swallowing disorders in the medically complex patients.  He also serves as a Site Visitor for the ASHA Council for Academic Accreditation (CAA).

Tamara Wasserman-Wincko, MS, CCC-SLP, is the Co-Director of the Speech-Language Pathology Division, Department of Otolaryngology, at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).  She is responsible for training, supervision, and program development at several UPMC sites.  Her clinical experience of 18 years at UPMC includes, acute care, swallowing rehabilitation following head and neck cancer, and the assessment and treatment of a variety of swallowing disorders.  She is actively involved in the UPMC Swallowing Disorders Center and works closely with the ENT department.  She serves on the Aspiration Prevention Committee at Presbyterian University Hospital and is on the Total Quality Care team in the Department of Otolaryngology.

Early Intervention Task Force Initial Call Minutes

The following is a summary of the initial call with the Early Intervention Task Force. These are some of the working goals we discussed:

• Develop strategies to recruit SLPs to work with the birth to three population.
• Work with universities to promote EI to graduate students.
• Members of this task force can go to local universities and offer to talk with the students on EI.
• Develop a presentation on working in EI for both students and potential supervisors of graduate students.
• Develop a FAQ sheet of regulations/processes for SLPs interested in EI.
• For current SLPs in EI, link PSHA website to PaTTAN website on PELICAN regulations.
• Determine if PSHA can help SLPs who work in EI meet the 24 hour training requirements in a more efficient manner.
• Educate physicians on EI through email blasts or Project CONNECT.

Licensure Task Force Initial Call Minutes

The following is a summary of the initial calls with the Licensure Task Force. These are some of the working goals we discussed:

• Getting the bill passed is the ultimate goal.
• Email blast every other week to PSHA members to provide one piece of information
  about the bill.
• A “Breaking News” box on the PSHA website to update members on current status of the bill.
• Develop ways to accomplish grassroots advocacy:
• Use of ASHA CAPWHIZ
• Packets of how to interact with legislators
• Link from PSHA site to ASHA site on advocacy.

Schools Task Force Initial Call Minutes

The following is a summary of the initial call with the Schools Task Force. These are some of the working goals we discussed:

• Develop information for SLPs in schools to advocate for salary supplement for the CCC
• PSHA has been working with one SLP on this and can use this model if it proves successful.
• Determine if other districts in PA have approved salary supplement—there are a couple who are working toward it that we know of at this time.
• Develop a mechanism where school-based SLPs can connect with each other through commenting/blogging more easily (PSHA Bulletin Board).
• Begin to discuss what issues are important in developing workload language for the regulations, if the licensure bill passes with the current workload language (to be specified in the regs) intact.

Healthcare Task Force Initial Call Minutes

The following is a summary of the initial call with the Healthcare Task Force. These are some of the working goals we discussed:

• Have PSHA serve as a resource for promoting and developing clinician-researcher partnerships.
• Advocate with the PA Department of Health to lift ban on running studies in long-term care facilities.
• Recruit students to Healthcare through presentations, mentorships, contact with local universities, etc.
• Continuing education on insurance regulations and regulations by geographic region.

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