About Patty
Patty joins our team at Thrive Therapeutics, bringing over 30 years of experience in Speech Pathology. While teaching on the Cherokee Reservation in 1980, Patty was challenged with the task of differentiating between language disorders and ESL that some of the children, who were being raised in home environments where the Cherokee language was still spoken, presented. For that reason, she studied the Cherokee language and returned to college to study communication disorders, where she earned her Masters of Science.
Moving to the Asheville area in 1993, Patty began working with adults and has worked across the continuum of rehab care from acute care to hospice. She has years of knowledge and expertise, providing services to individuals with voice, language, speech, hearing, and cognitive disorders.
For the past 10 years, her work has been at Mission’s Cancer Center, specializing in voice and swallowing, with a focus on the head and neck oncology population. She wrote grants to receive medical supplies for the patients who had undergone total laryngectomies. She is passionate about assisting others find their voice and regain their swallow function.
Patty is semi-retired, but continues to provide rehabilitation, consultation, and support to this population of head and neck cancer, at Thrive Therapeutics.
DEGREES, CERTIFICATIONS, AND LICENSES
Master’s of Science in Communication Disorders: Western Carolina University 1989
Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development and Family Relations with Psychology; East Carolina University 1978
Early Childhood Education Degree; K-3: WCU 1988
American Speech, Hearing, and Language Association; Certificate of Clinical Competence
North Carolina Speech and Language Pathologists and Audiologists; License #2579
Certifications and Expertise in conducting and interpreting:
Videofluoroscopic Swallow Studies/Modified Barium Swallow Studies (VFSS/MBSS)
Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow (FEES)
Videostroboscopies
Tracheoesophageal Prosthesis Management (TEPs)
Myofascial Release for Swallowing (MFR)
Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES)
Deep Pharyngeal Neuromuscular Stimulation (DPNS)
North Carolina General Contractor’s License