Providence Health and Services could close an at-home program enabling communication by people with diseases making it hard or impossible to speak.
The hospital system announced it would close the Home Health Augmentative and Alternative Communication-Speech Language Pathology program next month. People who are involved and have benefited from the service said it would be a devastating decision.
Kara Hayden, one of three speech language pathologists with the program, talked about the ramifications for people with diseases like ALS and certain types of autism.
“They won’t be able to communicate with their family and friends,” Hayden outlined. “They won’t be able to participate in social engagements and interactions. They’ll be more socially isolated, which we know: loneliness kills. They won’t be able to participate and direct their own medical care. They won’t be able to communicate with their doctors.”
The speech pathologists are represented by the Oregon Nurses Association, which opposes the layoffs and said Providence is prioritizing profits over patients and employees. Providence said it is restructuring some of its programs to focus on core services. The hospital system also said it is reevaluating whether to close this program based on feedback from the community.
Lois Rosenbaum’s husband Richard is a former Providence neurologist who has ALS. She said his only means of communication as been through this program’s speech therapist, who has come to their home almost every week for the past year.
“It is a life-changing program for people with ALS who can’t communicate any other way,” Rosenbaum stressed. “It enables them to communicate in the only way they can, through a computer and through a system that is especially designed for people who can no longer speak.”
Hayden added the program provides a unique service.
“We tailor their interventions to their home environment,” Hayden explained. “To the people who are coming and going from their homes, to the physical environment to their homes and to their specific communication needs.”