Speech Therapy Now Available at SVMC’s Northshire and Deerfield Valley Campuses

BENNINGTON, VT—June 29, 2022—Speech therapy patients in areas near Manchester and Wilmington, Vermont, can now schedule appointments closer to home. Speech-language pathologist Kate O’Neill, MS, CCC-SLP, will be traveling from SVMC Outpatient Rehabilitation in Bennington to the primary care offices in Manchester and Wilmington. All three practices are part of Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC) and Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) in Bennington. Appointments in Manchester and Wilmington are open to all SVMC speech and language patients, regardless of where they receive primary care.

O’Neill works with adults and geriatric patients who have impairments in communication, speech, language, swallowing, voice, and cognition. She treats patients with voice disorders, hearing loss, head and neck cancer, and neurological conditions, including stroke, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), traumatic brain injury, Bell’s palsy, and dementia. She conducts videofluoroscopic swallowing studies with the radiologists to evaluate swallowing in real time on an x-ray.

O’Neill earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Communication Sciences and Disorders from The University of Vermont in 2012. She went on to receive her master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, New York, in 2014. She holds her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and has clinical licenses in Vermont, New York, and Massachusetts. She is a certified Vital Stim provider, a form of neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy, and is trained in Myofascial Release. She began working for Southwestern Vermont Health Care in 2016 at The Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, The Centers for Nursing and Rehabilitation, and Southwestern Vermont Medical Center.

For information about becoming a speech-language patient at SVMC Northshire Campus or SVMC Deerfield Valley Campus, call 802-447-5140 to schedule.

About SVHC:

Southwestern Vermont Health Care (SVHC) is a comprehensive, preeminent, healthcare system providing exceptional, convenient, and affordable care to the communities of Bennington and Windham Counties of Vermont, eastern Rensselaer and Washington Counties of New York, and northern Berkshire County in Massachusetts. SVHC includes Southwestern Vermont Medical Center (SVMC), Southwestern Vermont Regional Cancer Center, the Centers for Living and Rehabilitation, and the SVHC Foundation. SVMC includes 25 primary and specialty care practices.

Southwestern Vermont Health Care is among the most lauded small rural health systems in the nation. It is the recipient of the American Hospital Association’s 2020 Rural Hospital Leadership Award. In addition, SVMC ranked fourth nationwide for the value of care it provides by the Lown Institute Hospital Index in 2020 and is a five-time recipient of the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Magnet® recognition for nursing excellence. The health system is fortunate to have the support of platinum-level corporate sponsor Mack, a leading supplier of contract manufacturing services and injection molded plastic parts based in Arlington, VT.

Southwestern Vermont Medical Center provides exceptional care without discriminating on the basis of an individual’s age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. Language assistance services, free of charge, are available at 1-800-367-9559.