THE 1^st WORLD VOICE DAY EVENT Presented by the VOICE & SWALLOWING CENTER at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center, New York

Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2003, 10am Location: CPMC, Milstein Hospital Building, Clark Conference Center

The First annual World Voice Day is a worldwide celebration of the importance of the human voice and an opportunity to raise awareness of voice disorders and voice health. Physicians from Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center’s Voice and Swallowing Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Neil Velez, in conjunction with the American Academy of Otolaryngology, presented a program aimed to raise awareness of voice health and treatments. World Voice Day involves many different components: education about voice disorders, professional voice use, laryngeal cancer, and preventative voice care.

Dr. Jonathan Aviv demonstrated via live video a state-of the art technology that permits a frame by frame analysis of voice function during actual talking and singing. Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center is the first center in New York to offer this device for voice evaluation called video-chip laryngeal stroboscopy.

World Voice Day Fact Sheet

Who:

Neil Velez, an internationally known Spanish-language singer, who has completed seven albums, spoke about his experience as a patient at the Voice and Swallowing Center at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.

Jonathan Aviv, MD, medical director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and professor of otolaryngology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

Thomas Murry, Ph.D., clinical director of the Voice and Swallowing Center at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and professor of clinical speech-pathology in otolaryngology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

1. What is World Voice Day?

World Voice Day is a celebration of the importance of the human voice. The human voice is used to express our thoughts, ideas, concerns as well as emotions. In addition, millions of people rely on their voice for their livelihood.

2. When is World Voice Day?

World Voice Day is April 16, 2003.

3. Why a World Voice Day?

World Voice Day is joint international effort to educate people of the importance of their voice and provide preventative voice care information.

4. How to celebrate World Voice Day?

Be aware of the importance of the voice to many occupations as well as one’s social activities of everyday life. Specifically, it is important to remember to care for the voice and use preventative voice care techniques such as proper water intake, reduction or minimization of over-use and abuse of the voice and to avoid second hand smoke and other noxious environmental exposures.

5. Where did World Voice Day start?

World Voice Day started with a combined effort of Otolaryngologists and Speech-Language Pathologists from Brazil, United States and Europe coordinating their educational and outreach activities. Brazilian voice care professionals started this concept with the establishment of a Brazilian Voice Day in 1999.

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