January 11, 2008

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network’s Carrie Kane, MS, ATP, was recently elected to a two-year term on the Professional Standards Board of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (RESNA). RESNA is an Arlington, Virginia-based interdisciplinary association of professionals that promotes research, development, education, provision and advocacy of assistive technology for individuals with a disability.

Assistive technologies are devices that increase, maintain and improve the functional capabilities of people with disabilities. Specific assistive technology devices range from wheelchairs and computer access aids to specialized phones and communication devices. Good Shepherd currently employs
11 staff members who are certified as assistive technology practitioners (ATPs), which represents
17 percent of the total number of ATPs employed in the entire state of Pennsylvania, according to data collected by RESNA.
   
Kane was selected to join the board because of her unique background as a speech pathologist and a RESNA-certified assistive technology practitioner.

“Carrie’s appointment to RESNA’s Professional Standard’s Board is testimony to her dedication to her field,” says John Grencer, director of Technology at Good Shepherd.  “She is a vital component of Good Shepherd’s Assistive Technology program and is integrally involved in our Assistive Technology Resource Center, funded by the PA Initiative on Assistive Technology.”
   
Kane received a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology and audiology from East Stroudsburg University and a master’s degree in speech from Ithaca College. She joined Good Shepherd to complete her graduate externship and was later hired full time in 1997. 

In the past 11 years, Kane has fulfilled many roles at Good Shepherd as a certified speech pathologist and assistive technology practitioner. In 2001, she launched a successful outpatient rehabilitation program of augmentative and alternative communications for adults with severe communication disorders.     

“It is an incredible honor to be able to represent both Good Shepherd and the speech pathology field on RESNA’s Professional Standards Board,” Kane says. “I believe that improving assistive technology education and awareness in both clinicians and suppliers in the assistive technology field will ultimately enrich the lives of residents, patients and clients who could benefit from this technology.”

Source: Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network