WHEATON, Ill., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Tellabs Foundation has awarded Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital a grant of $100,000 for the Swallowing & Voice Center; one of seven centers in Marianjoy's Assistive Rehabilitation Technology Institute. The grant will meet a crucial need for Marianjoy to help treat over 1,500 individuals with dysphagia or swallowing difficulties each year.
An estimated six to ten million individuals in the United States are diagnosed with dysphagia; which can develop as a result of injury or illness. While millions of people are affected by this condition, treatment of dysphagia is a relatively new area in the field of medicine. The grant provided by the Tellabs Foundation will enhance evaluation and treatment of dysphagia through the use of updated C-Arm technology, an X-ray image intensifier that displays a live image on screen. It will also be used for recording equipment to more effectively observe the dynamic swallowing process.
"We are very appreciative of the Tellabs Foundation for its generosity in providing this grant," explains Kathleen Yosko, President and CEO of Marianjoy. "Marianjoy values its ongoing partnership with the Tellabs Foundation that helped us open our new inpatient hospital in 2006, establish AbilityLinks.org in 2001 to help people with disabilities gain employment, and is now helping to expand our Swallowing and Voice Center."
Aside from enhancing evaluation and treatment, the grant will enable the Marianjoy Swallowing Center clinicians to research new aspects of dysphagia. "The new technology gives our researchers the ability to evaluate, for example, whether combination biofeedback treatment promotes brain neural plasticity to relearn safe swallowing," notes Yosko. "The grant opens the door to educational and research opportunities that can be shared on local, regional, and even international levels."
The Tellabs Foundation was established by Tellabs, a global telecommunications equipment provider based in Naperville, Illinois. The Foundation supports the priority areas of education, health and the environment in communities where Tellabs employees live and work. Since 1997, the Foundation has given more than $14 million to nonprofit organizations. More information about the Tellabs Foundation can be found at http://www.tellabs.com/about/community.shtml.
Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital is a nonprofit teaching hospital in Wheaton, Illinois, dedicated to the delivery of physical medicine and rehabilitation programs including stroke, neuromuscular, orthopedic, brain injury, spinal cord injury, and pediatrics. Marianjoy's $60 million, 120 private room replacement hospital is a state-of-the-art facility designed to enhance the naturally holistic approach to rehabilitation. Founded in 1972, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital maintains an extensive network of inpatient, subacute, and outpatient sites and physician clinics throughout the Chicago area. Marianjoy is a member of Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare. Visit http://www.marianjoy.org/ for more information.
Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
CONTACT: Denise LeBloch, +1-630-909-7104, dlebloch@marianjoy.org, or
Charmaine Mufich, +1-630-909-7100, cmufich@marianjoy.org, both of Marianjoy
Rehabilitation Hospital
Web Site: http://www.marianjoy.org/
