BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Amedisys, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMED - News) today announced it has proven clinical excellence with its Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program, according to the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) National Outcomes Measurement System (NOMS) report for 2011.

Developed to illustrate the value of speech-language pathology services provided to people with swallowing disorders, cognitive and memory impairments, and communication disorders, NOMS is a data collection system, recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The key to NOMS is the use of ASHAs Functional Communication Measures (FCMs). FCMs are a series of disorder-specific seven-point rating scales, designed to describe the change in an individuals functional communication, swallowing, or cognitive/memory abilities over the course of treatment.

According to the 2011 NOMS data, Amedisys Speech-Language Pathology outcomes for treatment goals met in the home exceeded the national home care industry average by 19%. The national average for 2011 was 51.78% of treatment goals met in the home, while Amedisys met 70.87% of treatment goals.

We are extremely proud of our Speech-Language Pathology team here at Amedisys for achieving this level of high-quality care for our patients, said Jim Robinson, executive vice president of home health and hospice care for Amedisys. Our team of 600 speech-language pathologists, based in more than 300 Amedisys care centers across the country, work with thousands of patients each year to improve their communication skills and help with memory deficits. This specialized care often reduces the need for feeding tubes and helps patients recover the ability to swallow.

Swallowing disorders (also known as dysphagia) are diagnosed in approximately 10 million Americans each year. Nearly all dementia patients develop dysphagia, and swallowing disorders also are associated with stroke, respiratory conditions, brain and spinal cord injury, as well as progressive neurological conditions like multiple sclerosis, ALS and Parkinsons. People who suffer from swallowing disorders often experience weight loss, poor nutrition, dehydration, social isolation, choking and pneumonia.

In the last 10 years, the number of elderly Medicare beneficiaries who were admitted to the hospital for aspiration pneumonia increased by 93.8%, said David Hutchings, CCC-SLP.D., managing director of Rehab Services at Amedisys. Through our Speech Language Pathology program, our multidisciplinary care team takes a comprehensive approach in addressing dysphagia to help decrease the risk of aspiration pneumonia and hospitalizations for this condition.

To help those with swallowing disorders avoid health complications like pneumonia, Dr. Hutchings urges seniors and their loved ones to watch for, and talk to a health care professional about, the following symptoms:

By proactively treating swallowing disorders and using specialized feeding techniques that maintain nutritional needs, enhance safe food intake and maintain dignity for those on our home health and hospice service, we can help to reduce unnecessary hospitalizations, and improve peoples overall quality of life, Dr. Hutchings said.

For more information about NOMS, please visit: http://www.asha.org/members/research/noms/.

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Amedisys Scores 19% Above National Average on Treatment Goals Met at Home