{"id":25024,"date":"2024-11-04T12:48:26","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T19:48:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/trouble-swallowing-southwest-memorial-hospital-provides-a-clearer-picture\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T05:07:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:07:48","slug":"trouble-swallowing-southwest-memorial-hospital-provides-a-clearer-picture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/trouble-swallowing-southwest-memorial-hospital-provides-a-clearer-picture\/","title":{"rendered":"Trouble swallowing? Southwest Memorial Hospital provides a clearer picture"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Molly
Molly Greenlee, a speech language pathologist at Southwest Health System, administers a fiber-optic evaluation of swallowing test to Staci Cost, a physical therapist. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Southwest Memorial Hospital in Cortez recently got new equipment that allows doctors to clearly see into a patient\u2019s throat.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s called a fiber-optic evaluation of swallowing, and the hospital has two certified speech language pathologists who administer the test.<\/p>\n

A 4 mm tube with a camera on its end goes up into a patient\u2019s nose, through the nasal cavity and into the throat, said Molly Greenlee, a speech language pathologist at Southwest Health System.<\/p>\n

The camera is angled down to look into the larynx. What they\u2019re looking for is residue in the throat after swallowing, an indicator the patient is having trouble swallowing, Greenlee said.<\/p>\n

Rachel Garrison, a speech language pathologist at the hospital, strongly advocated for the new equipment over several years.<\/p>\n

Previously, the only way to see into a patient\u2019s throat was through something called barium swallow, Garrison said. That procedure requires X-rays and exposes patients and the doctor to radiation.<\/p>\n

Plus, the image that comes out of it is \u201cgray blobs,\u201d Garrison said.<\/p>\n

The new test provides a clear image of the throat, which is necessary to troubleshoot a swallowing problem.<\/p>\n

A handful of patients have used the new equipment so far, as they just got it in August. Most report mild discomfort during the test, Garrison said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the range of procedures the hospital has, we are the good guys,\u201d Greenlee said.<\/p>\n

To show The Journal <\/em>how the test works, Staci Cost, a physical therapist at Southwest Health, agreed to be a guinea pig.<\/p>\n

Greenlee prepared the equipment and explained what she was going to do, as Garrison placed a small washcloth on Cost\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s this for? My tears?\u201d asked Cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, it\u2019s for your snot,\u201d Garrison replied.<\/p>\n

Greenlee instructed Cost to rub her nostrils and asked which side she was breathing out of better, which side felt better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe right one,\u201d Cost said.<\/p>\n

And so Greenlee proceeded to stick the camera up her nose.<\/p>\n

\"Molly
Molly Greenlee (center) and Rachel Garrison administer a new test at Southwest Health Systems to see patients swallow. Staci Cost (left) volunteered to test it out. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Southwest
Southwest Health Systems two speech language pathologists, Molly Greenlee (left) and Rachel Garrison, pose with the new fiber-optic evaluation of swallowing equipment. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

After a few minutes of searching, Greenlee and Garrison didn\u2019t find what they were looking for \u2013 the camera was mostly showing red, and what looked like irritated, tissue.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a deviated septum,\u201d said Cost. \u201cToo many soccer balls to the face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenlee then removed the tube \u2013 Cost later said the removal is the easiest part \u2013 and after some deliberation, decided to go into the left nostril.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t nearly as uncomfortable as the right,\u201d Cost said.<\/p>\n

Garrison and Greenlee quickly found the clear view of the throat they were looking for.<\/p>\n

They gave Cost lemon Jell-O, dyed bright green to easily see on the screen, and water to see her swallow. Sometimes the problem people have is aspiration, where food and water enter the airway and ultimately the get into the lungs.<\/p>\n

Garrison said when they see a patient who\u2019s staying at the hospital, they tell nutrition services which food is safe for them to eat.<\/p>\n

They also prescribe swallow therapy to make muscles in the neck stronger, Greenlee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s surprisingly tiring,\u201d Greenlee said.<\/p>\n

A common swallow therapy exercise is to stick the tongue out slightly between your teeth and then swallow.<\/p>\n

After exploring her left nostril, Greenlee asked Cost to rate the discomfort on a scale from one to 10, 10 being the worst.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the left side, one or two,\u201d said Cost. \u201cFor the right, four maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Greenlee said if someone is having trouble swallowing, to contact their doctor and come and get the test done.<\/p>\n

Greenlee and Garrison emphasized that they couldn\u2019t have gotten the equipment without the help of the community and the Southwest Memorial Hospital Foundation\u2019s fundraising efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

equipment at the hospital offers a vivid view of the throat<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29,210,538],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-25024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-southwest-health-system","tag-southwest-memorial-hospital"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25024"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25024\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78772,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25024\/revisions\/78772"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25024"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=25024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}