Ampcare, LLC

😭Are you struggling with improving your patient's dysphagia with traditional therapy methods?

You feel overwhelmed with your caseload, frustrated by your lack of resources, and just can’t seem to get your patients and their families the results they deserve.

Next thing you know, your patient shows no improvement on their instrumental after weeks of traditional dysphagia therapy, so you're both feeling discouraged and unmotivated.

Sound familiar? Trust us, we've heard this story before.

Well, imagine this…

🤠Your patients start gaining weight and can eat whatever they want without limitations.

💊They can take their medications whole with water!

🥤Your NPO patient with a PEG tube reaches a goal of eating Cheez-Its and drinking Coca-Cola (AND resumes a regular and thin liquids diet) with hard work, dedication, and ESP.

It’s possible, and we're here to get you there.

Ready to see these results for yourself?

You're invited to join us for an On-Demand + Live 6x4, In-Person course on 9/10!

This course consists of:
⭐️6 hours of on-demand, pre-course work
⭐️+ 4 hours of live, in-person training from 10:30 am -3:00 pm CST, and this includes lunch.
⭐️= Total of 10 hours Advanced ASHA CEUs

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to register.

Run, don't walk! Spaces are limited!

🚨Stop searching for your next CEU opportunity…we found it!

It’s time for you to meet your new favorite dysphagia therapy tool...Ampcare's Effective Swallowing Protocol (ESP)!

And here’s how we know…

We've helped SO many SLPs and patients see MAJOR & REAL results that are impossible to ignore! We're talking NO more aspiration, diet modifications, or PEG tubes.

Ready to learn more?

You're invited to join us for an On-Demand + Live 6x4, In-Person course on 9/11!

This course consists of:
⭐️6 hours of on-demand, pre-course work
⭐️+ 4 hours of live, in-person training from 10:30 am -3:00 pm, and lunch is included.
⭐️= Total of 10 hours Advanced ASHA CEUs

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to register.

Run, don't walk! Spaces are limited!

🤠Hello, McKinney, TX!

We want to improve your dysphagia therapy toolkit so badly…

And we KNOW you want to eliminate your patients' PEG tubes, upgrade their diets, and get them back to the dinner table ASAP!

Ready to do it together?

You're invited to join us for an On-Demand + Live 6x4, In-Person course on 10/18!

This course consists of:
⭐️6 hours of on-demand, pre-course work
⭐️+ 4 hours of live, in-person training from 8 am to noon.
⭐️= Total of 10 hours Advanced ASHA CEUs

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/product/hybrid-live/ to register

From brainstem CVA and NPO to family meals and celebrations. THIS is what Ampcare is all about!

It's easy to get lost in the intricacies of the muscle fibers, electrical stimulation parameters and research findings; we could nerd out on that info ALL day!

But, these stories of families reunited at the dinner table, and stories of SLPs finding fulfillment in their career, truly are motivators for everything we do.

If you're ready to get these results for your patients, we're more than ready to help you! Let's do this!!

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to get started!

📣Calling all NY/NJ SLPs...planned this for you ⬇️

It’s our upcoming training in Staten Island!

It’s your answer to improving your patient's dysphagia once and for all.

Here are the course details:
2 hours of on-demand, pre-course work
+ 8 hours of live, in-person training
= 10 hours of Advanced ASHA CEUs for you!
Register for this option here: https://swallowtherapy.com/product/live-course/

If 6 hours of pre-work and 4 hours live is better for your schedule, that's an option for this course, too!
Register for this option here: https://swallowtherapy.com/product/hybrid-live/

Hurry! Space is limited!

One Sunday morning, Jill woke up and realized that the right side of her mouth felt different when trying to put her lipstick on. By the time she had lunch, she was unable to drink from a straw, and the entire side of her face felt numb.

Jill Watson is an SLP. She’s all too familiar with what unilateral facial weakness and numbness could mean…

So she drove herself to the ER and got worked up for a stroke.

Thankfully, no stroke! But it turned out she had Bell’s Palsy.

Unable to fully close her right eye, smile, or feel any sensation on that side of her face, Jill immediately started a 21-day course of steroids and antivirals.

“It definitely scared me,” she told us.

The virus and inflammation had cleared up by the end of the 21 days, but she still hadn’t regained full function of that side of her face.

So, in classic med SLP form, Jill turned to the evidence.

“I had just completed the in-person certification for Ampcare ESP, and I immediately thought I must try the facial protocol.”

She went to work early every morning and spent the first 30 minutes with ESP facial placement on the right side of her face in conjunction with oral/facial exercises. She did this five days a week for eight weeks.

The outcome? Well, let’s just say she has a LOT to smile about now!

“I relate the entire movement restoration [of the right side of my face] to the ESP treatment…the initial pharmacological treatment helped treat the infection and reduce the inflammation of cranial nerve VII, but the regaining and restoration of strength, expression, and mobility was all ESP in my experience.”

While Ampcare ESP is known for improving swallow function, there’s certainly a place for facial sensation and mobility in our protocol - and it’s just as important!

Thank you, Jill, for sharing this exciting win with us! We love hearing stories from our community.

From a CVA, NPO, trach, & PEG to regular solids and & thin liquid IN EIGHT WEEKS WEEKS?! Shut the front door!

No, friends, it's not too good to be true. It's just facts!

Major props to Emma, the SLP who facilitated this life-changing treatment and who is certainly this patient's hero! She's our hero for sure!

Imagine what it would feel like to help your patients go from NPO to eating their favorite meal! That's what Ampcare is all about.

Are you ready to get these results for your patients? Let's do it together! Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/

😩Who can relate??🙋

Don't forget to share this with your SLP BFF to give them a laugh today!

Dysphagia therapy made easy, courtesy of our Ampcare training!

⬇️And right now you can register for one of our upcoming courses...

You're invited to join us in El Paso, TX for an On-Demand + Live 6x4, In-Person course!

This course consists of:
⭐️6 hours of on-demand pre-course work
⭐️+ 4 hours of live, in-person training from 8 am - Noon.
⭐️= Total of 10 hours Advanced ASHA CEUs

Head to https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to explore our options!

Your dysphagia therapy is officially covered…

Let us tell you why SLPs love Ampcare ESP so much…

It's:
✅Results
✅Enjoyable
✅Pain-free
✅Motivating
✅Quick
✅Cost-effective

Ready to see what all the hype is about? We thought so 🤗

You're invited to join us in Livermore, CA on 9/15/24!

This is an On-Demand + Live, In-Person course that consists of:
🤠 2 hours of on-demand pre-course work
🤠 + 8 hours of live, in-person training
🤠 = 10 hours of Advanced ASHA CEUs for YOU!
(If a 6-hour on-demand, pre-course work with 4 hours live from 1-5 PM is better for your schedule, sign up for the Hybrid Live option.)

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to register!

PS...if you can't join us in Livermore, CA...don't worry! We have PLENTY of other options to choose!

Are you ready for it?

It’s time to level up your dysphagia therapy toolkit!

🗓️You're invited to join us for this On-Demand + Live, In-Person Ampcare Training on August 23rd!

Here are the course details, y'all:
🤠 2 hours of on-demand, pre-course work
🤠 + 8 hours of live, in-person training
🤠 = 10 hours of Advanced ASHA CEUs for YOU!
(If a 6-hour on-demand, pre-course work with 4 hours live from 1-5 PM is better for your schedule, sign up for the Hybrid Live option.)

HURRY! Space is limited!

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to register!

📣Have you heard?! We're going LIVE on 8/14 at noon CST!

We're so excited to chat with you all about why competitors are changing their settings to be more like ours.

In part 2 of this live series, we'll be talking about parameters (AKA settings), intensity, and phase duration.

🤠Drop a 🙌 if we'll see y'all there!

🥇😂 Which one is your favorite?

⬇️Share with us below or add your own!

🤨WTF... WHY THE FLUX??

Why are competitors changing their settings to be more like Ampcare's?

📣Join us on IG LIVE on 8/7 at noon CST as we chat all things parameters (AKA settings) and why Ampcare's ESP can help YOU get the best results for your patients!

🤠You won't want to miss this! See y'all there!
⁣

If you have a patient that demonstrates reduced or delayed laryngeal vestibule closure on their instrumental, what do you recommend to help them?

You might try a postural compensatory strategy.
You might recommend thickened liquids to slow down the bolus and give the larynx more time to make moves.
You might recommend a myriad of exercises that may or may not target LVC and that the patient may or may not complete correctly or at all....

What if, instead, you could give them 30 minutes of massively impactful therapy that has been PROVEN to speed up laryngeal vestibule closure time? Yes, proven. (Watts & Dumican, 2018)

That's exactly what you get with the Ampcare Effective Swallowing Protocol!

👏improved airway protection
👏reduced aspiration risk
👏improved bolus efficiency (due to increased subglottic pressure)

What are you waiting for?! Get more info and register today https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/

If you're using the same dysphagia exercises that you learned in grad school or found on some dusty handout in the back of a 30-year-old desk, it's time for an upgrade, friends!

Dysphagia therapy isn't what it was 10 or even 5 years ago. The research in the field of speech-language pathology is evolving rapidly and that's a GREAT thing for our patients.

Thickening liquids used to be the first line of defense and a blanket treatment for anyone who coughed. We now know better, so we do better.

Chin tuck used to be just as common practice. We now know better, so we do better.

Tongue wagging and /k/ and /g/ words used to be considered dysphagia treatment. We now know better, so we do better.

Exercises alone used to be considered effective. Sure, they may nudge spontaneous recovery along, but we know that Ampcare provides faster and greater gains. We now know better, so we NEED to do better.

Do better today with Ampcare. LIKE if you are ready to do better by your patients!

🧐How exactly does Ampcare help with airway protection to increase swallow safety?

Our protocol is different from other e-stim options. Stimulation with ESP’s submental placement and specially designed electrodes, facilitates the range of motion of the hyolaryngeal complex similar to that of the Mendelsohn Maneuver, while engaging a resistive effect to laryngeal vestibule closure.

This resistance is created by a stretching effect or opening of the laryngeal vestibule. When the patient swallows during the stimulation on time, this movement creates the most effective effortful swallowing exercise you can offer to your patient.

BONUS: The facial placement can address oral deficits that include chewing, oral pocketing and anterior loss of bolus.
This protocol only utilizes the safest swallowing strategies (indirect exercises) and offers a postural device to provide the ideal head and neck position to allow for the most efficient muscle contraction needed to promote a functional swallow. (E – Electrodes, S – Stimulator, P – Posture Device)

Ready to learn more? Visit SwallowTherapy.com

Do you ever question if your patient is *really* doing an Effortful Swallow or Mendelsohn? Or if the therapy you're doing is *really* doing anything for your patients?

With Ampcare, you can take the guesswork out of dysphagia therapy. We've seen under videofluoroscopy what the Ampcare Effective Swallow Protocol can do. When you see movement on the outside, you can rest assured, there's motor involvement in the musculature the electrodes are applied to.

Ampcare isn't a one-size-fits all, but if your patient has any of these impairments, it's the BEST therapy you can give them:
⚡️Impaired lip closure/drooling
⚡️Poor mastication
⚡️Reduced tongue base retraction
⚡️Decreased hyolaryngeal excursion
⚡️Impaired epiglottis retroversion
⚡️Decreased pharyngeal contraction
⚡️Delayed laryngeal vestibule closure times
⚡️Impaired opening of the PES/UES
⚡️Delayed timing and initiation of a swallow
⚡️Impaired conduction of neural pathways

Get more information and get registered today! https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/

Would you assume:
a. the vagus nerve
b. the auditory nerve
c. the trigeminal nerve
d. I let the cranial nerve info fall out of my memory as soon as I passed the test in A&P...

If you guessed C, the Trigeminal Nerve, you'd be correct!

But if you said D, we've got ya covered!

The Trigeminal Nerve (aka Cranial Nerve V) is responsible for...
✨sensory to the face
✨motor to the muscles of mastication
✨motor to the palate (tensor veli palatini)
✨motor to the pharynx

This critical cranial nerve has three branches and is said to be the most complex of the cranial nerves.

If you see a patient who has some of the impairments listed in the graphic, the Effective Swallowing Protocol Facial Placement might be exactly what you're looking for!

With the facial placement, you can stimulate the muscles of mastication to improve chewing, decrease oral pocketing, and prevent anterior loss of a bolus (or saliva.)

Ready to learn more? Join us for one of our upcoming courses to get certified in the best dysphagia treatment option you can find!

When you become an Ampcare Certified User, we don't throw the manual at you and walk away, leaving you to your own devices after the training. Not even close!

The Ampcare Team is here to support you and your patients from evaluation to discharge.

We have a Facebook group for Ampcare Certified Users to connect and collaborate with each other as well as our team.

We offer monthly Office Hours where you can chat on Zoom with Rick and Russ about all things Ampcare!

We also are available via phone and email to troubleshoot, refresh, or assist with specific patients and any questions that arise.

We realize this isn't the typical user experience, but it's of the utmost importance to our team that we support YOU and your team!

If you haven't joined our Facebook group yet, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/1715240311887337 to join!

Tired of trying the same old exercises and getting the same old results on the instrumental report that shows slow or minimal progress?

This one's for you!

Ampcare's Effective Swallowing Protocol does more in 30 minutes for patients with dysphagia than traditional therapy can!

Ampcare ESP is a protocol that combines NMES with a resistive exercise and a restorative posture device.

Using the science of perturbation, Ampcare ESP speeds up airway closure time, thus reducing the chances of aspiration.

Ampcare’s ESP creates the most effective, effortful swallowing exercise for your patient.

ESP utilizes the principles of neuroplasticity: specificity, repetition, resistance!

If you're TIRED of guessing what you should do to help your patients see REAL results, then join the thousands of SLPs who are leveling up their therapy skills with Ampcare!

Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to get certified!

We LOVE to celebrate SLP wins, maybe even more than Jason Kelce loves his little brother!

When we hear stories of patients getting to have their favorite meals again, getting to have steak again...
Getting to go to the brewery with their friends and colleagues again...
Getting to get rid of their PEG tubes and get back to their normal lives...

We are reminded of why we do what we do every day!

If you're an Ampcare-Certified SLP and have a story to tell, we'd love to hear it! Send us a DM or share in the Certified Users Facebook Group!

And if you're not an Ampcare-Certified SLP, we've got trainings ready for you! Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to get registered today!

Julie, a Certified Ampcare User, had a patient with a pacemaker and reached out to the cardiologist before initiating Ampcare’s ESP. The cardiologist provided Julie with the serial number of the device and the phone number of the sales rep as she was prepared to get the therapy started.

Instead, she encountered an unexpected turn of events.

The sales rep recommended she use VitalStim.

Confused by this recommendation, Julie called Ampcare’s support team and was able to discuss and clarify the clinical details on using ESP with this particular pacemaker.

Once Julie spoke directly with the manufacturer's Tech Support for clarification, she learned there was an acceptable protocol to successfully use Ampcare with this type of pacemaker. This was the coveted green light she and her patient were waiting for to begin the Ampcare protocol.

"(Tech Support) actually apologized and after looking at the data on file said Ampcare was fine to use with my pacemaker patient. The patient was ecstatic!"

Moral of the story? Educate, educate, educate! Advocate, advocate, advocate!

IMPORTANT: Ampcare CAN be used with patients with pacemakers, but before therapy, it should ALWAYS be cleared by the cardiologist; when necessary, check with the device manufacturer!

For more info on Ampcare's Effective Swallowing Protocol, visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to get trained!

The pie-shaped E Series Electrode ensures proper placement and easily fits under the chin to evenly distribute the current and improve patient comfort.

This improves not only the comfort for the patient but the level of recruitment achieved by the current of neuromuscular electrical stimulation.

Ampcare electrodes, protocol, and device are superior to anything else you'll find on the market.

To get your hands on Ampcare's Effective Swallow Protocol, sign up for in-person training at Swallowtherapy.com/training

Have you experienced estim for yourself yet? Come see us at one of our courses to feel the Ampcare difference!

Dr Eric Blicker is one of the finest dysphagia educators that I have had the pleasure to know. He teaches from both a research standpoint and from the standpoint of an "in the trenches" provider who is the epitome of the evidence based practice model. We need people like him guiding ABSSD. If you can vote for this board, I highly encourage you to vote for Eric Blicker.

Our answer is...yes!

For dysarthria, the primary focus would be on:
🌟 Lip seal (to articulate words with “ooo,” “mmm,” /w/, & “puh” via the orbicularis oris)
🌟 Increasing oral pressure
🌟 Increasing oral ROM
🌟 Increasing intelligibility
🌟 Increasing volume (via the buccinator/masseter)

The exercises you perform should be specific to the impairment in conjunction with the 5 seconds of stimulation "on-time".

🌟 As a general rule, sensory stimulation can be utilized initially to test vibrotactile innervation & comfort (afferent pathways).

🌟 Then, progress to sensorimotor stimulation (afferent/efferent pathways) as tolerated to assess & treat muscle hypotonicity.

Depending on the impairment, you can be...
🌟More specific with the small/youth electrodes (e.g. orbicularis oris/buccinator, buccinator/masseter)
🌟OR more general with the large/adult electrodes (e.g. orbicularis oris, buccinator, & masseter)
🌟The use of a mirror to focus on exercise specificity can be very helpful.

🚨 Note: in most cases, if there is a speech disturbance with or without a dysphagia mechanical cause, you should be comfortable with using Ampcare's ESP.
🚨 You do not have to have a dysphagia diagnosis for using this product.

Ready to get certified? Sign up for a training today! Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/

Do we recommend using the ESP submental placement protocol and delivering real boluses at the same time?

🚨ESP is a rehabilitative protocol to be used ONLY with swallowing exercises (effortful swallow) during the stimulation “on” times.

Here's what our co-founder Russ says:
🌟 "When using the submental placement, you could only give boluses while stimulation is "off." With ESP, stimulation is on for 5 seconds, creating a muscle contraction and resistance-based exercise, followed by a rest period of 15-25 seconds, depending on the patient.

🌟 Liquid boluses during the stimulation "off" times will assist with keeping the patient’s swallowing mechanism primed to perform 60, 72, or up to 90 effortful swallows in a 30-minute session.

🌟 BUT when stimulation is on, the airway is stretched open to create the resistance-based exercise, which improves airway protection over time, but not in that moment.

🌟 We're stretching the airway open and having patients swallow against that resistance to create a more effortful swallow, which promotes faster and stronger airway closure.

🌟 That doesn't make for great airway protection in the middle of that exercise, so no food bolus with ESP. But you can consider a liquid bolus that the patient is safe with during the ESP stimulation "Off" times."

All this information (and more!) is covered extensively during the training.

Ready to get Ampcare-Certified? The time to start improving the lives of your patients is NOW! Visit https://swallowtherapy.com/get-certified/ to get started!

Our parameters make Ampcare the most effective swallow therapy available.

Well, what the heck are parameters?

They are not just technical terms that make your eyes gloss over and prompt yawns. Parameters and electrode placement are the game changers that determine whether NMES is effective or not.

In the simplest terms, parameters are the specific settings that our protocol utilizes.

They determine how many pulses of electrical stimulation are delivered to the nerve that innervates the muscle...
How deep does the stimulation go...
How often is stimulation on...
How long does the muscle rest between stimulation periods...
How strong is the stimulation...

Think of them like the ingredients for baking a pie, like our buddy Rick is wearing in one of our Reels! If the pie has too much oil and not enough sugar, it's not going to taste like the recipe you were hoping for.

If your parameters are set too high in one area and too low in another, you're not going to get the swallow exercise you need to make true change for your patients.

Ampcare's parameters have been shown in research to provide greater improvements than swallow therapy alone and in less time.

Want to learn more about the different parameters that make Ampcare's Effective Swallowing Protocol the most effective swallow therapy available? Stick around and we’ll share more soon!