[Click on image to the left to jump right to the video.]
The NFOSD had the privilege of attending the 8th annual Advance Practices in Speech and Dysphagia Conference. The meeting held February 24th to 26th in Las Vegas and aptly nicknamed the Sin City Laryngology Conference was packed with almost 300 speech language swallowing professionals, Speech Language Pathologists and Physicians.
The three days included approximately 40 presentation including live advanced practice endoscope demonstrations. The conference first half focused on speech and the second half on swallowing. Presentations were made by the thought leaders and clinicians in the dysphagia community. These are serious topics delivered in a compelling way and included the following: Minimizing Risk of Pneumonia, Advanced Diagnostic and Management of Vocal Cord Dysfunction, Advanced Techniques in Esophageal Dilation among others. A one page agenda (PDF format) with all presentations titles and their presenters can be retrieved by clicking here.
As a patient, caregiver, or professional, should you have an interest in a copy of a specific presentation or contacting one of the presenters, send an email to info@nfosd.com with your request and we’ll do what we can to make the introduction or facilitate a distribution of the presentation material. Collaboration is a powerful tool in the prevention and treatment of disease and this is our role in helping to make this happen.
All seriousness aside, and we don’t say this lightly, the lunch break on day two provided the “other side” of this august group of professionals. Five volunteer contestants, in the format of a final round on an American Idol episode belted out a combination of old favorites or their own creations. Unlike American Idol, the camera wasn’t focused on the performer; it was focused on their voice boxes. And, like American Idol, the judges were as amazing as the artists… witty, constructive, mean, funny, but most of all entertaining.
One performer, Erin Walsh, is a speech pathologist in San Diego and regular attendee of the Annual Sin City Laryngology Conference. Last year her belts and growls during a rendition of Lady Gaga’s, “You and I” won over the judges and she was asked to return this year as the reigning champion. Dr. Belafsky requested a Bruce Springsteen remake, which she prepared; however, at the last minute she opted to entertain with a rendition of a good ‘ol country hit, “Before He Cheats.” Erin loves performing and has dedicated her career to treating voice and swallowing disorders. She also owns a business, Endo Education, which provides resources to patients with dysphagia including a 7 day menu detailing recipes and shopping lists created by a dietician at George Washington University. It is a nutritionally balanced menu and provides precise calculations of calories, protein and fat. This resource is available to patients and caregivers at www.endo-education.com.
Click here to view Erin’s incredible performance. It’s three minutes in length with the first 30 seconds showing Dr. Peter Belafsky inserting the Endoscope device. So, turn up the volume, sit back, and be amazed! Enjoy.
The Team at NFOSD.