Central Michigan Life

Issue date: 11/12/07 Section: News

Bridges Center Physical therapy patient is Joseph Bradac, emeriti faculty geography; therapist is Raju Chowdary; student in last few frames is Angela Neihoff. They spent most of the session working on safely getting up and down from a chair--shifting his weight forward [Click to enlarge]

Central Michigan University's Fall and Balance Center stands out from other facilities similar to it in the state.

It's the only one in Michigan with experts in audiology.

The center, located in the Health Professions Building, has physical therapists to determine and diagnose inner ear problems related to falling.

Bridges Program Director Liana Bachand said the center has seen patients from Ann Arbor to Saginaw and beyond.

"The closest facility would be in Ann Arbor. There are places that treat fall and balance, but very few that really have the vestibular that is attached to it," Bachand said. "We have such state-of-the-art equipment. It makes us a valuable resource for this area."

The center sees patients who are at risk for falling for any number of reasons including weakness, diseases and inner ear problems.

It opened to see patients last year.

"It is now fully operational and accepting patients," said Kristi DePaul Ries, assistant director of Media Relations. "They seek to become a long-term facility. It's just in its infancy."

The center's goal is to help its patients maintain independent lifestyles and reduce their risk of falling.

Physical Therapist Raju Chowdary has been with the clinic since it opened in March. When he's not at the clinic he works at Mid-Michigan Medical Center in Midland.

"We are doing the clinic one or two times a week," he said. "It's a challenge being able to do things as fast as we would like."

Chowdary said his favorite part of being at the center is the patients. Being able to solve patients' problems and working with the staff also are important, he said.

The Fall and Balance Center also is a resource for students. Students who are a part of the audiology program do assessments of patients as part of their clinical experiences.

Graduate students also are employed and involved in research efforts.

"We are also serving the educational community of CMU students in the audiology program," Chowdary said.

For more information visit the Health Professions Web site at chp.cmich.edu


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