S+S, Spring 2025
The Voice, Airway & Swallow Center within the Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery has always strived to provide tailored outreach to the community. Director Dr. Libby Smith, DO, FAOCO, is pleased to announce their ongoing and new initiatives to engage the community in health and wellness in voice.
“Voice is critical for everyone’s ability to communicate and engage with other, as well as be advocates for themselves,” she said. “Voice production is often taken for granted until there is an issue. Thus, we believe it is important to engage and educate the community about what they can do to prevent voice injury in addition to how to go about rehabilitation when needed.”
This year, Dr. Chloe Santa Maria, MD, MPH, initiated a new Vocal Injury Prevention (VIP) program for the resident artists of the Pittsburgh Opera to extend current support of the opera. Dr. Santa Maria described the program as “a way to educate and empower resident singers regarding vocal health and injury prevention, as well as provide a targeted vocal health plan for each singer.” She called it an overwhelming success and well received by Pittsburgh Opera artists.
For the general community, Nichole Sommers, PA-C, is heading the Vocal Outreach Program, which provides education seminars to local high school and collegiate music programs, worship groups, and other professional voice users, like teachers.
Tracey Thomas, CCC-SLP, one of the Center’s senior speech-language pathologists, has been integral in the success of the vocal outreach programs for years. “Our Vocal Outreach Program is important because it educates both vocational and avocational voice users in normal voice function and voice disorders,” she said. “Most people do not realize the complexity required for voice production. Even less known is how to prevent voice problems before they face a challenging voice issue.”
Each outreach includes an interactive presentation of vocal anatomy, physiology of phonation, common voice disorders, and prevention strategies to optimize vocal health. Additionally, team members introduce voice therapy techniques and host Q&A segments for personalized learning.
By centering programs on health and wellness principles, the Center fosters an environment for both prevention and treatment via community engagement. “Through our Vocal Outreach Programs, we aim to empower voice users, provide resources, foster professional partnerships and highlight the importance of seeking a medical voice evaluation when needed,” Thomas said. “As specialty healthcare providers in the city of Pittsburgh, we take pride in collaborating with a variety of organizations to deliver these valuable programs.”
“The response has been incredibly positive,” said Sommers. “Many groups have shown great enthusiasm, expressing excitement about building connections with our laryngology team and starting important conversations about vocal health. Our local community groups have shown a genuine interest in learning more about their voices and how to care for them, and many have highlighted how the vocal wellness seminars provide valuable insights and resources for their groups. It has been great to see such a welcoming and engaged community, eager to further explore and prioritize vocal wellness.”
“Our expert team has passion for voice and education. Everyone has dedicated their professional life to help others use their voice most effectively,” Dr. Smith said. “Engagement with the community is key to what we do. We want everyone to have a voice.”