[Dysphagia] Bedside Eval for CHI

[Splapath at aol.com (Splapath@aol.com)]

I am hoping to get some insight in an area that is unfamiliar to me since I 
work with Peds.  My uncle sustained a CHI from a 24 foot fall while trimming a 
tree.  His trauma was on the right side of his head (where the tree limb hit 
his head and where he fell on the ground).  He was unconscious for 
approximately 10 minutes after the fall and could remember his name but not the day or 
year.  He has been in the hospital for 2 days now and has not been seen by the 
hospital SLP for any kind of assessment.  He has short term memory loss (things 
have to be repeated after 5 minutes of teling him) and has some difficulty 
organizing thoughts and slurred speech.  He has had a CAT/MRI and there is no 
brain damage that they can see.  My main question is typically how soon after 
sustaining a CHI are patients assessed and should he have already been seen by a 
SLP?  The other part to this is that he is now in a small rural hospital with 
limited resources.  My family is asking my input regarding keeping him there 
or moving him to a larger hospital.  Personally, I think a larger facility 
would better meet his needs, but I don't know if I am over reacting.  I would 
appreciate any input.  

Thank you in advance,

Kathy, SLP in Illinois