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St. Cloud State University
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Grants enhance communication
By Derek Sullivan
Published:
Thursday, July 17, 2003
One of SCSU's leading professors was awarded two grants to study communication disorders.
Grama Rangamani, communication disorders, received $11,000 to work with students majoring in communication disorders.
The grants will be used for projects that will not only help patients with communication disorders, but also family members of sufferers and students working in the communication disorder field.
Students will receive hands-on training using group therapy methods. Their patients will be adults who have speech and language impairments due to a stroke or other neurological problem.
"Example is not a way to teach, it is the only way to teach," Rangamani said. "Our goal is to have one student working with one to two patients. Hopefully as the program grows we will have four to eight students working on this project."
The project is part of a larger effort between the university and the St. Cloud Hospital called "Let's Talk Again - A Communication Outreach Program for Individuals with Communication Disorders due to Neurological Problems."
"Let's Talk Again" has several major goals. The most important is to make sure that patients will continue to receive care throughout the illness. A major factor in all types of medical procedures is the lack of adequate insurance coverage. A patient's insurance company, many times, will only provide initial or short-term care. This provides many problems for stroke survivors.
Rangamani hopes to set up a program using group therapy where stroke patients and other patients suffering from communication disorders can receive therapy even after the insurance runs out.
"Treating them in a group, letting them relate to each other, we can help them to improve," Rangamani said. "The program's goal is to improve communication skills not only while in therapy, but after therapy. This is important due to limited insurance coverage."
"Let's Talk Again" will also provide assistance to family members of sufferers. A family member can become very frustrated by another family member with a communication disorder. The program will allow family members to ask questions and receive literature on how to handle a loved one struggling with a communication disorder.
Rangamani has spent the past few years building relationships with members of the St. Cloud Hospital. Rangamani hoped to develop a program that allows students to receive hands-on training the field of communication disorders. This program allows students to get out of the classroom and deal with real patients. Students improve the lives of the stroke victims as well as educate themselves in the field.
Speech language pathologist Kathy Kuhl and social worker Loretta Anderson were very influential in the development of the program and the acquisition of the grant.
"Let's Talk Again" was funded by a CentraCare Foundation grant of $10,600. The grants were also made possible by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Center for Teaching and Learning with funds from the Bush Foundation.
ADDITIONAL GRANTS
Several other SCSU professors also won grants for work in their areas of study.
Joan Wilcox and Patricia Bresser of nursing science received $15,000 to develop partnerships with urban, rural and tribal health care centers so SCSU nursing students can learn clinical practices.
Susantha Herath, business computer information systems, won $5,000 to establish student "learning-by-doing" methods in computer security courses.
Richard Josephson, learning resources and technology services, secured $15,000 to test a computer instruction model for training use in the private sector. It was created by SCSU faculty.
