This salty SLP has been tasked with writing a blog for Better Hearing and Speech month. Why am I salty? It’s probably the day or the time or just how this hits me. I really thought maybe I was just being overly sensitive, and maybe I am. But it seems like EVERYTHING (ok not everything, but a definite majority of things) that is public in our bidness is pediatric/child related…amiright?
Like what about better swallowing, better cog-language skills, better executive function month? How about a state association (or national one) that pays attention to those of us committed to caring for adults and (gasp) our elderly population? I’m not saying all CEUs for adults and adult-based therapy are hard to find (good ones — and there are some out there), but yes I am.
Don’t get me wrong — I have nothing but love for my SLP siblings who treat and care for the littles….but at the same time, where’s the love for the rest of the SLPs?
I have been increasing my experiences with things like advocacy and education of the public and even government officials as to what Speech Therapy is, who we treat, what we can offer, and the importance of access to care for ALL who need it, and that has led me to this salt box that I am standing upon.
What better time to educate and advocate than during Better Hearing and Speech Month? What does advocacy for SLPs look like? It looks like writing letters, making hill visits, and educating on and trying to protect our reimbursement (SLP has the smallest multiplier in the PDPM world of Medicare Part A and Medicare Physician Fee Screen cuts are real on the Med B [outpatient/long term care side]).
We owe it to ourselves and our profession to learn about reimbursement — what does that look like? How much is it really? How does it differ by payer, setting, etc.? How does this affect the way therapy is administered and for how long? Should it be a factor at all?
Before you say no — and believe me, we all want to say no — do the math, really dig in and look at all the parameters. Therapist salary + cost of benefits — you can stop there and get a pretty good idea, but then go a step further — overhead for things like the IT, billing, HR and payroll department…but I digress.
The theme for this year’s Better Hearing and Speech Month is “Building a Strong Foundation,” so let’s try and do that, even if it means jacking the house up and replacing the old foundation with new.
I wish you all a very happy Better Hearing and Speech Month. May you build your foundation by spreading the love of this profession, and becoming more involved in the advocacy and education that is involved in keeping our profession viable and relevant no matter what setting and population you choose to call home.
Salty SLP signing off!