About the author

Claire Heitinger, MS, CCC-SLP, is a medical speech-language pathologist currently living and working in the Bay Area. She earned her Master’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders from LIU-Brooklyn. During graduate school, she completed her adult externship at Mount Sinai Hospital in their acute rehabilitation and outpatient units. There, she developed a strong interest in swallowing and swallowing disorders that has since grown into a passion.

After graduation, she packed up and moved across the country to California to complete her clinical fellowship in skilled nursing. She currently works in the Inpatient Acute Rehabilitation Program of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, CA. There, she has the privilege of working with adults with a wide range of medical conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative diseases, and spinal cord injury.