#169 - AAC in Medical Settings

Communication between provider and patient is a crucial component of quality care which is why extra thought and planning need to be arranged for augmentative and alternative communicators.

About the Guest: Jessica Gormley, Ph.D., CCC-SLP of The Patient-Provider Network

Jessica Gormley, PhD, CCC-SLP is an Assistant Professor, Speech-Language Pathologist, Research Coordinator and Interim Director in the Department of Speech-Language Pathology at the UNMC Munroe-Meyer Institute. Dr. Gormley earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Handicapped from the State University of New York at Geneseo, a Master of Arts in Speech-Language Pathology from the State University of New York at Geneseo, and a PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Pennsylvania State University.

She provides inpatient and outpatient augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) services as well as completes AAC research and program development activities. Her research and clinical interests center upon improving interactions among individuals with complex communication needs, their families, and health care providers through the development and evaluation of AAC tools and trainings.

Dr. Gormley is a co-organizer for the Patient-Provider Communication Network along with Tami Altschuler and Rachel Santiago. Dr. Gormley has co-authored several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters on the topics of supporting AAC in acute care, personalization of patient-provider communication, and child-parent-provider communication interactions.

Links to Mentioned Content:

• Patient Provider Communication Network
• Bimonthly Zoom Call
• Article on Creating a Culture of Communication
• Widget Health downloadable resources
• Patient Provider Communication Network Downloadables
• Patient’s right to access to communication via the Joint Commission and other policies supporting patient communication
• Article about system changes in hospitals and other articles on AAC in medical settings