$4.5 million awarded to 16 universities across America
(Richardson, Texas – April 11, 2023) A Texas nonprofit is providing grants to university speech therapy clinics across America—removing barriers for people with Parkinson’s Disease to improve their speech and swallowing. Ninety percent of people with Parkinson’s are at risk of losing their ability to speak, and swallowing complications are the main cause of death in this population. Parkinson’s Disease is the world’s fastest-growing neurological disorder and the second-most prevalent brain disease in the United States.
Parkinson Voice Project, a nonprofit speech therapy clinic committed to helping people with Parkinson’s regain and retain their speech and swallowing, today announced it will award over $6.5 million in education, training, services, and purchase of therapy and research supplies and equipment to universities, hospitals, private practices, and other rehab organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad.
More than $4.5 million will be awarded to 16 select university speech therapy clinics to help develop SPEAK OUT!® Therapy and Research Centers. These Centers will specialize in Parkinson Voice Project’s effective, research-based speech therapy protocol. High quality speech therapy also reduces the risk of developing life-threatening swallowing complications, according to Samantha Elandary, founder and CEO of Parkinson Voice Project. Parkinson Voice Project also provides speech-language pathology training grants worldwide.
“These new SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers will eliminate the barriers currently preventing thousands of people with Parkinson’s from receiving speech treatment,” says Elandary. Every Therapy & Research Center will specialize in online therapy (teletherapy) and commits to providing SPEAK OUT! at no cost to any person living with Parkinson’s within their state. This will enable patients who are homebound, don’t drive, or who live in rural areas to now receive the speech therapy they need while eliminating insurance and financial challenges. The universities will also conduct efficacy research on SPEAK OUT! Therapy.
“The goal of these centers is to help everyone with Parkinson’s maintain their connections with family and friends, and live longer, happier lives,” says Elandary. Parkinson Voice Project is only naming one SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Center in each state. These universities were selected based on the compassion of their speech-language pathology faculty, their commitment to serving the Parkinson’s communities throughout their state, and their research capabilities.
“We chose today, World Parkinson’s Day, to announce our first 16 SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers,” says Elandary. The training and research grants are part of Parkinson Voice Project’s Campaign To Reach America, which raised over $11 million for this campaign during the past year. The nonprofit will continue to raise money this next year to name more Centers until all 50 states are covered.
Speech and swallowing issues in Parkinson’s are an urgent problem, and patients and families are desperate for help, according to Elandary. “We want every person with Parkinson’s to have access to our highly effective SPEAK OUT! therapy. We are honored to be collaborating with these university speech clinics that have proven to be compassionate and have a special interest in serving their Parkinson’s communities,” she says.
The first 16 SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers are Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan; Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona; Arkansas State University in Jonesboro, Arkansas; Eastern Washington University in Spokane, Washington; Georgia Southern University in Savannah, Georgia; Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia; Metropolitan State University of Denver in Denver, Colorado; Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts; Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania; Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport, Connecticut; Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri; University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York; University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota; University of Nebraska – Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska; University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida; and University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah. With the Parkinson Voice Project headquarters in Richardson, Texas, people with Parkinson’s in 17 states will have access to life-changing therapy.
The SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Center Grants are multi-faceted, with a mix of services and benefits, including education and training, speech therapy workbooks and materials, purchase of therapy and research supplies and equipment, PR services, and outreach and patient educational materials provided over five years. Clinical and research faculty members will travel to Parkinson Voice Project’s headquarters for specialized training in SPEAK OUT!, and in working with people with Parkinson’s specifically. The Texas nonprofit will also provide online training for the rest of the universities’ speech-language pathology clinical and research faculty and all of their graduate students.
“The Therapy & Research Centers will build on the existing research base that supports the SPEAK OUT! protocol,” according to Dr. Richard Zraick, Scientific Advisory Board member for Parkinson Voice Project and Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at University of Central Florida. “Students and their clinical educators will have access to the latest evidence-based practices as they conduct their research and provide their clinical services,” he notes.
Sparked by the Pandemic
Elandary credits the pandemic for sparking the concept of the SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers. “When we transitioned our speech therapy clinic to an online telepractice during the shutdown, we found our patients did better with that mode of therapy. Many barriers that previously prevented patients from receiving speech treatment were immediately eliminated. Patients who were homebound, lived in rural areas, or had transportation challenges could now receive treatment,” she says.
“Online therapy is easier and more convenient for this patient population that also struggles with mobility and physical challenges.” Elandary’s team observed that online therapy made it easier for family members and friends from all across the world to participate in therapy sessions by simply hopping onto a ZOOM call.
In March 2020, Elandary’s clinical team also began hosting “SPEAK OUT! Home Practice Sessions” on their website, Facebook page, and YouTube channel five days a week. More than 3,000 patients participate in these online sessions each day. With this added practice support, patients are improving and reaching their speech therapy goals faster than they did before the pandemic, she notes.
Additional SPEAK OUT! Training Grants
The SPEAK OUT! Therapy & Research Centers are just one type of grant Parkinson Voice Project awarded this month. The nonprofit is also awarding more than $2 million in education, training, therapy workbooks and supplies to 245 individual speech-language pathologists and 364 hospitals, universities, private practices, and rehab organizations in 14 different countries around the world.
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About the $20 Million Campaign to Reach America
In December 2021, Parkinson Voice Project officially launched its $20 million “Campaign to Reach America” to financially secure its headquarters in Richardson, Texas and help support 50 Therapy & Research Centers – one in every state across America. Parkinson Voice Project has raised over $11 million towards the campaign and plans to continue the campaign until all 50 states are sponsored. For more information on the Campaign to Reach America, please visit www.parkinsonvoiceproject.org/Campaign-To-Reach-America.
About SPEAK OUT!
Parkinson Voice Project’s comprehensive SPEAK OUT! Therapy Program combines interlocking components, including education for both the patient and family, individual speech therapy, a specialized workbook, weekly speech and singing group sessions, daily home practice, and re-evaluations every three-to-six months. People with Parkinson’s who adhere to the SPEAK OUT! protocol have been shown to maintain their treatment results for 12+ years and counting.
About Parkinson Voice Project
Parkinson Voice Project was established in 2005 and is dedicated to helping people with Parkinson’s regain and retain their speech and swallowing. They treat patients in their Texas clinic and train speech-language pathologists and graduate students worldwide. Their SPEAK OUT! Workbook is available in eight languages: English, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish. Since 2008, the organization has not charged for their therapy services. Their program is primarily funded by charitable gifts and pay-it-forward donations from grateful patients and their families and friends. Parkinson Voice Project maintains a score of 100 on CharityNavigator.org. To learn more, visit www.ParkinsonVoiceProject.org