Walker Scottish Rite Clinic – Closure Update

Dear Walker Scottish Rite Clinic client families,

The suspension of in-person therapy at the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic, a program of Maryville University, will continue until further notice. This decision was made with the utmost concern for our community’s health and safety.

Currently, the state of Missouri’s stay-at-home order extends through May and the St. Louis County order until mid-May. However the governor has indicated that reopening services in Missouri may require a gradual process. In light of this, and in consultation with local health officials, Maryville University has suspended all in-person activities until further notice.

The Clinic’s staff are working hard to support our clients’ communication goals through traditional and innovative home practice tools. We are increasing our caregiver support and training videos online and continually updating links on the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic’s facebook page, Youtube channel, and Pinterest page.

In addition, we are currently piloting telepractice treatment sessions. We hope to make treatment sessions available through telepractice to as many currently enrolled children as possible. To ensure that telepractice sessions will be equivalent to the quality of services provided conventionally, the Clinic’s speech-language pathologists have been attending webinars through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and other resources.

But we realize that for many families access to technology is a large hurdle. With this in mind, we will continue to provide regular consultations and traditional home-practice support for all enrolled children.

We miss seeing you and your children. Our hearts go out to each of you and your families who are impacted in various ways through this tragedy.

Please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Jacob Gutshall, MHS, CCC-SLP

Director of the Walker Scottish Rite Clinic