Parkinson Voice Project® Awards 2024 SPEAK OUT!® Clinical Education Grant to Roseburg VA Health Care System

Roseburg, OR (June 17, 2024) -- Parkinson Voice Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the voices of people with Parkinson’s, named Roseburg VA Health Care System a 2024 SPEAK OUT! Grant Program recipient.

Grant recipients include hospitals, universities, private practices, and other organizations providing speech therapy across the United States and abroad. Each Clinical Education grant recipient receives training for their speech-language pathologists and students, SPEAK OUT! eLibrary access, and the opportunity for SPEAK OUT! workbooks and other materials.

The SPEAK OUT! Grant Program honors the late Daniel R. Boone, Ph.D., a world-renowned speech-language pathologist who recognized in the 1950s that individuals with Parkinson's could improve their communication by “speaking with intent." Based on Boone’s teachings and developed by Parkinson Voice Project, the SPEAK OUT! Therapy Program is a highly effective, comprehensive program that helps people with Parkinson’s and related neurological disorders regain and retain their speech and swallowing. By combining individual and group SPEAK OUT! Therapy with ongoing patient and family education, people with Parkinson’s learn to transition speech from an automatic function to an intentional act.

“Up to 90% of people with Parkinson’s are at risk of losing their ability to speak. In addition, swallowing complications account for 70% of the mortality rate in this patient population. Our vision at Parkinson Voice Project is to make quality speech therapy accessible to people with Parkinson’s worldwide,” said Samantha Elandary, Parkinson Voice Project’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer.

As a 2024 SPEAK OUT! Grant Program recipient, Roseburg VA Health Care System is committed to offering Parkinson Voice Project’s SPEAK OUT! Therapy Program to help people with Parkinson’s and related neurological disorders in their community.

Roseburg VA Health Care System is excited to offer our Veterans an engaging therapy technique based on the latest evidence-based practices. Treatment is offered in-person and virtually through the Roseburg VA Medical Center and Eugene VA Health Care Center locations.

About Parkinson Voice Project
Parkinson Voice Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization solely dedicated to improving speech and communication in individuals with Parkinson’s. The organization is head-quartered in Richardson, Texas and has trained more than 10,000 clinicians in more than 40 countries, including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, France, Ghana, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Israel, Greece, Lebanon, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, South Africa, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. For information, visit: https://www.ParkinsonVoiceProject.org

The point of contact for this release is the Public Affairs Office, Roseburg VA Health Care System; vharos-publicaffairs@va.gov; 541-440-1000, Ext. 43026.

Nikol Hansen, Public Affairs Specialist

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Sandra Kidd, Public Affairs Specialist

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