Southeast to open new speech and hearing center in January; renovations to Grauel set for next year

Southeast Missouri State University's speech and hearing clinic will have a new home in January that will be high-tech and provide greater privacy for clients and their families.

The current clinic is crammed into a series of rooms in the Grauel building on Pacific Street, with limited space for waiting families.

"Our waiting room spills out in the hallway all day," said Martha Cook, clinical coordinator and associate professor in the Department of Communication Disorders.

The clinic's future is taking shape just south of Grauel at the corner of Pacific and Watkins Drive on the university campus. The 8,500-square-foot, single-story Center for Speech and Hearing structure is scheduled to be completed by mid-November and be open by January.

Southeast's existing clinic operates in a maze of rooms that have changed little since their construction in the 1960s. Much of the technology is outdated. The current video monitoring system was pieced together over the years. Some of the six therapy rooms are cramped. The audiology testing rooms are heavy-doored, antiquated booths that resemble meat lockers.

John Anderson, left, and Jordan Sides of Boulder Construction Co. install roof decking Thursday on the new facility for the Department of Communication Disorders Center for Speech and Hearing at Southeast Missouri State University.Fred Lynch

The new, $2.5 million center will be far more technologically advanced and more handicapped accessible with a dedicated parking lot for clients, Cook said.

"It will look like a professional facility," she said.

In the new clinic's therapy rooms, motion-activated cameras will record clinical sessions automatically, and high-definition cameras will be used for clinical sessions. Faculty and clients' families will be able to monitor clinical sessions between students and clients on electronic tablets. Students will use small "earwigs" that allow them to be coached by faculty during their clinical sessions.

The new center will have 10 modern therapy rooms, a large room for diagnostic services, a room for audiological testing, two labs, a clinic kitchen for life skills training, an observation lounge where families can watch their child's or adult relative's therapy sessions on electronic tablets, a room with desk space for clinical supervisors, an office for the clinical coordinator, two rooms that can double as both therapy rooms and space for conferences with students and a workroom and storage space for students.

Cook said the clinic each semester serves about 50 to 55 clients from Southeast Missouri and the surrounding region.

"We see children as young as 1 and we have adults in the 90-year-old range," she said.

The clinic provides speech and hearing services for clients who suffer from a variety of conditions, including stroke and traumatic brain injuries, and autism disorders.

Some clients have stuttering issues or difficulty making certain vowel and consonant sounds. Others have hearing impairments or difficulty swallowing, Cook said.

The clinic's services are less costly than those provided at other speech and hearing facilities, she said.

"We don't deal with insurance. It is all private pay," she said.

Some of their clients have minimum-wage jobs and can't afford insurance, Cook said.

Graduate students in communication disorders provide most of the services, Cook said.

"Usually, we have 30 to 35 students in the clinic at any one time," Cook said.

The new center will have dedicated computers for students to file their clinical reports on the clients they assist.

Cook said the new center is designed to meet not only current needs but future growth. She said her students will be excited to work in such a modern clinic.

"This will really blow them away when they see it," she said.

When the new center opens, it will free up space in Grauel, which is scheduled to undergo major renovations early next year, university officials said.

Grauel houses faculty and classrooms for the departments of mass media, English and communication disorders. Faculty and staff will be relocated throughout the campus, and classes will be shifted to other buildings beginning next semester so Grauel can be renovated.

"This building will be empty," said Angela Meyer, director of facilities management.

Meyer said the Grauel renovations are expected to cost about $5 million. She said the cost estimate could change as the renovations are still in the design stage. Interior spaces will be rearranged and given a more open and well-lit design. It will include a gathering space for students on the main floor. Restroom facilities will be added on the third floor where there are none. Asbestos-tile flooring throughout the building will be removed and new flooring installed, she said.

Meyer said renovations to Grauel should be completed before the start of the fall 2017 semester.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641

Pertinent address:

Pacific Street and Watkins Drive, Cape Girardeau, Mo.