Lakeview Regional Medical Center will host an exercise class entitled LOUD for LIFE® for people who have previously completed the LSVT LOUD® treatment protocol with a speech language pathologist. The one-hour class will take place beginning on Jan. 7 at 11 a.m. in the hospital’s rehabilitation and sports medicine facility. Classes will occur each week through March 24, with no class held on Mardi Gras day, Feb. 25.
“This specific class is designed for our patients that have already gone through the LSVT LOUD® classes and are looking for further vocal treatment,” said Heather Rietschel, a Lakeview Regional speech-language pathologist. “This therapy can be life changing for people who are suffering with Parkinson’s, vastly improving their quality of life.”
LSVT Loud™ is a Parkinson’s-specific speech therapy designed to improve vocal loudness, speech intelligibility, and facial expression through the same premise of intensity and repetition. LSVT Loud™ therapy consists of four one-hour treatment sessions a week for four weeks, plus daily homework. Therapy includes increasing intensity, increasing breath support, increasing pitch range, and improving vocal quality. Additional improvements noted include improvement in swallowing and the masked facial expression which often accompanies Parkinson’s disease.
For more information or to participate, contact Heather Rietschel at (985) 867-4054 or heather.rietschel@hcahealthcare.com. The cost is $10 a class, and patients may be required to provide a medical release to exercise from a physician.
These classes are the latest addition to Lakeview Regional’s “Seniority Matters” programming; Lakeview Regional has also recently made several enhancements and modifications to its emergency department. As part of its commitment to offer a senior-friendly facility, the exam rooms now offer more safety features, such as additional railings on the walls and non-skid flooring to prevent falls. Older adults will be treated by a team that has been specially trained in geriatric medicine, which has shown to improve outcomes and reduce the need for inpatient admissions.