WakeMed and Triangle Aphasia Project Join Forces

RALEIGH, N.C. - WakeMed Health & Hospitals and the Triangle Aphasia Project (TAP) have joined forces to provide lifelong therapeutic support to patients through the Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab.

An estimated one million people in the United States have acquired aphasia - a communication disorder usually the result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, brain tumor or progressive neurological condition. This frustrating disorder may reduce a person's ability to understand written or spoken information and always affects their ability to find the words they want to say. Reading, writing, listening and speaking are so vital to our connections in the community and impairments like aphasia can be devastating to a person's self-confidence and willingness to participate in activities they enjoy.

For many years, the Triangle Aphasia Project operated as a community-based program to meet the needs of those with aphasia, offering a comprehensive range of support programs throughout Central North Carolina. As the number of individuals impacted by aphasia has grown, so has the need for additional services, financial support and resources.
"By welcoming the Triangle Aphasia Project into the WakeMed family, we are able to provide life-long therapeutic support well after insurance coverage is exhausted for patients and their families coping with Aphasia," commented Elaine Rohlik, executive director of the WakeMed Rehabilitation Hospital, the largest most comprehensive in-patient rehab hospital in the area. "We also are pleased to extend the continuum of care for our speech/language and brain injury patients."

The Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab is one of the few specialized aphasia programs in the country offering treatment groups, personalized home programs, family education and training and support. Collaborating with family and caregivers, the Triangle Aphasia Project at WakeMed Rehab works to remove barriers to information, recreation and vocational pursuits for the individual with aphasia.