Meet Katie!
Katie is a Speech-Language Pathologist and has been working in HDS’ Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) department for over 14 years. Growing up, Katie was very close with her grandparents and from there grew a love for the elderly. “I studied psychology and knew I wanted to be in a helping profession,” says Katie. “When I found speech-language pathology, I knew right away that it was the path I was meant to be on.”
When people think of “speech therapy,” they often assume that therapy only entails working on speech sounds, when in fact that only accounts for about 20% of Katie’s patient caseload. “When working with my patients, I provide intervention for swallowing, language and cognitive communication disorders; I also treat voice and I even do hearing screenings,” explains Katie.
Katie considers herself extremely grateful to have the opportunity to work with so many patients over the years, sharing in memorable moments and achievements along the way. Recently, Katie was working with a patient with severe apraxia of speech, who for the first month could not make a sound – not a word, not a laugh, not a sigh. After working relentlessly in therapy with her patient, she could finally say “hi!” “She was so excited to hear her own voice saying a real word, that she kept repeating it, louder and more excited each time,” recalls Katie. “I was so happy for her that I had goosebumps, and we both had tears in our eyes.”
“I love working at HDS and I love the HDS family I have grown to be a part of. I have found a home in this rehabilitation community of staff and I feel so grateful to be apart of it.” - Katie
Katie commutes to HDS daily from Burlington. “I use my commuting time to catch up with my friends and family,” says Katie. “When I’m not on the phone, hands-free of course, I like listening to music or to SLP or social justice related podcasts.”
Katie loves spending time with her family and friends, especially with her husband and their two children Paige and Dylan. Katie enjoys travel, fitness, art, shopping and playing golf. Katie and her husband have huge extended families, so they are often busy throughout the year enjoying a variety of family functions!
Thank you Katie for providing comfort, care and hope to our patients, every single day!