Gottsche welcomes new therapist

The Gottsche Rehab Center recently announced the hiring of full-time speech therapist Raegan Stanley CCC-SLP to Thermopolis. Stanley officially began Aug. 1. Though hailing from Pennsylvania, she noted she spent the summer as a wrangler on a dude ranch, and she is both familiar with and a fan of the Western culture.

Having a cleft lip and palate as a child, Stanley said she went through about 10 years of speech therapy, which definitely had an influence in her becoming a speech therapist. She's a graduate of Bloomsburg University, and most recently worked at Highland Care Center but is looking forward to working with a diverse caseload and a variety of needs. Some areas she has experience and interest in are dysphagia (difficulty swallowing), aphasia (loss of language due to stroke or other traumatic brain injury), craniofacial, voice disorders, motor speech, expressive language and cognition.

Stanley noted she also has her VitalStim certification, and explained this means she can use an electrical stimulation machine, in which electrodes are placed on the front of a patient's neck. Research has shown this type of therapy has shown to strengthen swallowing muscles.

Stanley said speech therapy can help patients with Alzheimer's, traumatic brain injuries, craniofacial issues, strokes and Parkinson's, as well as other issues. With regard to patients with head and neck cancer, she said the disease can often cause dysphagia, but getting therapy early can reduce the risk of dysphagia and help patients with their eating skills both during and after radiation therapy.

Gottsche Executive Director Cheryl Shero said she is excited to have a full-time speech therapist with the clinic, noting Stanley will provide outpatient services, but also work alongside the hospital and the clinic in Worland.