St. Francis Medical Center to open vocal cord clinic

St. Francis Medical Center will open a new clinic for people with vocal cord dysfunction, a condition often mistaken for asthma.

The clinic will operate from the speech and hearing department at the hospital. Patients will be accepted by referral beginning Feb. 25.

The clinic will be open from 8 to 11 a.m. only on the last Wednesday of the month.

Vocal cord dysfunction is an episode that occurs when the vocal cords tighten and reduce airway size while someone inhales or exhales. Often mistaken for asthma, VCD frequently can be complicated by stress or anxiety.

Patients referred to the outpatient clinic will receive an evaluation and treatments from a team of medical staff that includes an otolaryngologist, speech pathologist and clinical psychologist.

For information, call Luana Rhodes at 331-5980.