May 16, 2019
Kira Wright, CCC-SLP
When a statewide call went out here in Oregon to build a committee on telepractice, organizers may have dreamt of a group of clinicians representing a variety of patients and practice settings. No one imagined that so few people would cover the lifespan so completely!
Around the virtual table of our Telepractice Advisory Committee sit 5 SLPs: an assistant professor at a teaching hospital, the director of a private clinic, an assistant professor in an SLP graduate program, a regional manager for a healthcare provider, and a director of school-based services for an SLP staffing company. Each has come to telepractice, not as an end in and of itself, but as a tool to reach their clients and further their practice. Here’s what that looks like:
Emily uses an Enhanced Milieu Teaching program over telepractice with families and their very young children.
Jenny’s clinic uses telepractice to reach children, families, and adults from the local community and beyond.
Megann’s students see clients who stutter via telepractice and study how to conduct and report evaluations over telepractice.
Kate has studied the efficacy of telehealth for bedside evaluations and is implementing an out-patient telehealth program for adults.
Kira (that’s me!) trains and supervises a team of school-based SLPs exploring direct telepractice and hybrid onsite/offsite programs for school districts.
Together, we are advocates for telepractice at every stage of life in Oregon. We collect and share best practices from the world of teletherapy with the hope that our diverse perspectives will create a statewide standard of care that benefits people of all ages and needs. We all feel very grateful to have a state board that supports this work and to have the chance to learn from each other.
Whether you’re in Oregon or not, we’d love to hear from you! Reach out to us at OregonTelepractice (at) gmail (dot) com with questions, concerns, or opportunities!
