Reynolds provides speech therapy for area residents

Speech Language Pathologist Deborah Reynolds has dedicated more than 20 years of her life helping patients regain or improve their ability to function in everyday life.

Her career has now brought her to the Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 to work with patients through the hospital and East Adams Care Center (EACC). Reynolds also provides outpatient speech therapy services in Ritzville, as well as working with Davenport and Odessa hospital districts.

Reynolds began working in Ritzville in May and has enjoyed her experiences working with the hospital district and patients in the area. She made the decision to commute to Ritzville and work in a smaller community due to encouragement from a coworker.

Reynolds and Dorcey Earle worked together at Sacred Heart Medical Center and both women transferred to Northern Idaho Advanced Care Hospital to assist with the development of the hospital.

Last May, both Reynolds and Earle began work for East Adams Rural Healthcare (EARH) in the Physical Therapy Department.

The decision to follow Earle to EARH was easy for Reynolds, who had enjoyed working with Earle at the last facilities. She knew the caliber of care the duo had provided in the past, and was eager to continue the continuity of care in her current role.

Reynolds said commonly, people associate speech therapy with children. She explained she does not work with children, but if a patient is in need of a speech therapist for their child, she can make recommendations on a children’s speech therapist for the family.

For Reynolds, she focuses mainly on speech issues caused by cognitive impairments or swallowing disorders. Reynolds explained the majority of the brain disorders are caused by trauma or a stroke.

Swallowing disorders, or dysphagia, is Reynolds’ specialty.

She works with patients who are having difficultly swallowing because of an injury to the brain or the muscles or nerves that control swallowing.

Reynolds said after such traumas as a stroke, she works with the patient to formalize their treatment plan by testing their mental status and swallowing dysfunctions. From there, she works with the patient and the families to establish a plan for a rehabilitation program and begins the work with the patient.

Her role as a speech therapist is designed to assist patients by evaluating, diagnosing and treating all cognitive-communication and swallowing disorders.

The therapy allows the patient to redevelop basic communication skills, as well as relearn the proper way to swallow foods or liquids in order to function in their daily lives.

Reynolds said she encourages all families to contact a doctor if they believe a loved one is suffering from a cognitive or swallowing problem, which a speech therapist can assist in treating.

In her work with EACC, Reynolds also assists with dementia management, which has been a large benefit to the residents in the facility.

The Physical Therapy Department recently relocated to downtown Ritzville, and Reynolds said this location will help increase outpatient services, as well as provide a new care center for patients.

All of the EACC residents who can travel to the downtown office will also be having their physical therapy appointments at the new location.

Reynolds said her goal for herself is to constantly strive to improve the quality of care and create continuity throughout the department.

She is knowledgeable about the needs of the patients and had been ensuring the patients were receiving the highest quality of care, despite the restricted environment.

The new location in downtown Ritzville has allowed the department to expand and bring in more equipment and resources to assist with the varying needs of the patients.

The larger facility size allows more patients to be seen at the same time, and bringing in the equipment which was previously in storage, will help find the right treatment path for all patients.

Reynolds spends around three days a week working for EARH and serving both inpatients and outpatients. She works out of EACC, and said she enjoys the individuals she works with and the care level they are constantly working to improve each day.

The highlight of working in EACC for Reynolds is working with the Nursing Assistant-Certified (NAC) employees for the district.

Reynolds said the NAC’s are some of the hardest working individuals she has met, and she deeply appreciates their attention to the patients and the desire to help improve the overall environment for the patients.

Reynolds can be reached by phone at EACC by calling 659-1600,

extension 116.