Airflow Restoration in Tracheostomy: Early Intervention Strategies to Improve Swallowing and Upper Airway Functions
Learn evidence-based strategies to restore upper airway airflow after tracheostomy and improve swallowing, voice, cough, and secretion management. This course highlights early intervention, speaking valves, and subglottic suction tracheostomy tubes, including benefits like VAP reduction and above-cuff vocalization for better patient outcomes.
Presented by: Carmin Bartow, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S
AUDIENCE: Undergraduate, graduate students, Clinical Fellows, experienced clinicians, clinicians who would like to transition from school-based SLP to medical-based SLP, Respiratory Therapists
This webinar is free thanks to the sponsorship support from Atos Medical | Tracoe
This presentation highlights the vital role of restoring airflow to the upper airway after tracheostomy, focusing on early intervention strategies to improve swallowing. The benefits of airflow restoration for voice, cough, and secretion management will also be addressed. Cuff deflation and speaking valves will be briefly reviewed, but the primary focus will be on recent research into subglottic suction tracheostomy tubes to restore airflow and enhance swallowing. Additional advantages of these tubes, including reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) through suctioning and enabling above-cuff vocalization, will also be discussed. Attendees will gain practical, evidence-based approaches to early intervention that support improved swallowing outcomes.
Learner objectives:
1) Describe the importance of restoring airflow to the upper airway after tracheostomy and its impact on swallowing, voice, cough, and secretion management.
2) Explain early intervention strategies, including cuff deflation, speaking valve use, and the application of subglottic suction tracheostomy tubes, to enhance swallowing and airway function.
3) Identify the additional clinical benefits of subglottic suction tracheostomy tubes, such as reducing ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and enabling above-cuff vocalization.
This webinar is approximately 60 minutes in length. This is a recording of a live webinar.
This webinar is offered for Professional Development Hours (PDHs), previously Certification Maintenance Hours (CMHs). For more info: https://www.asha.org/certification/factdef/.
Certificate of completion available upon request once completed.
Presenter:
Carmin is a seasoned speech-language pathologist with over 25 years of clinical experience in dysphagia, head and neck cancer, and tracheostomy management. She was instrumental in developing a multidisciplinary tracheostomy team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and taught the master’s-level dysphagia course at Tennessee State University. She has also served as a Clinical Specialist with Passy-Muir and is a national presenter and published author on tracheostomy and dysphagia. Carmin currently works as a Tracheostomy Senior Clinical Educator with Atos Medical.
