Kate Lethbridge
BSpPath, MPH.
Kate has spent her career in the world of health care and Speech Pathology. Pragmatic, positive and well-respected Kate has over 20 years of working as a Speech Pathologist providing care to adults with swallowing and communication impairments.
Kate has experience working in the adult public and private hospital sector, across acute, rehabilitation, and outpatient setting as a senior speech pathologist. She has also worked as a health care manager.
Kate holds a Senior Speech Pathology position at Monash Health in the Otolaryngology; Head & Neck Surgery Department as part of the multidisciplinary team. She works collaboratively with ENT/ laryngologists to diagnose and treat complex swallowing conditions, voice and upper airway disorders using nasendoscopy, flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES), videostroboscopy and videofluoroscopy (x-ray).
Kate has special interests and strong clinical skills in the area of swallowing disorders, including instrumental swallowing examinations such Flexible Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallow (FEES) and videofluoroscopy (VFSS), laryngology (voice and upper airway disorders), tracheostomy, brain injury and head & neck cancer.
Kate is a certified practicing member of Speech Pathology Australia, the Laryngology Society of Australasia (LSA), and European Laryngology Society.
Kate has attended and presented papers in the areas of swallowing and upper airway disorders at both international and national conferences. Her areas of interest include swallowing and breathing disorders associated with subglottilc stenosis, advanced practice skills for speech pathologists, and vocal cord dysfunction.
Fostered by her post graduate studies in Public Health, Kate has a keen interest in providing evidence based, holistic, flexible, and patient focused care. Her recent research into better care experiences for patients and patient reported outcome measures (PROMS) cements her approach of providing such care.
Kate’s positive care, compassion & integrity are her point of difference.
When not working you might find Kate with her two daughters, cooking or enjoying the outdoors.