Kate Sullivan, MS CCC-SLP, CBIS is a speech-language pathologist and director of the Brain Fitness Center at Walter National Military Medical Center Bethesda. Kate has been at Walter Reed for 10 years where she has treated patients with neurological impairments at all levels of function and recovery.
In 2009, Kate helped launch the Brain Fitness Center (BFC) at Walter Reed. The BFC was devised as an adjunct to traditional cognitive therapies offered by Speech and Occupational Therapy. The BFC uses commercially available software designed to offer cognitive exercise for service members. The BFC is conceived of as a cognitive gymnasium, providing a workout for the brain. Research is currently being conducted in the BFC on the efficacy of these programs for injured service members with complaints of cognitive dysfunction. The BFC is also part of a recent grant awarded by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) to test a new computer-based cognitive remediation program designed for individuals with a traumatic brain injury.
Prior to working at Walter Reed, Kate worked at Georgetown University Medical Center and the Traumatic Brain Injury recovery unit at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. She received an undergraduate and master’s degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders at James Madison University and is a Certified Brain Injury Specialist.
Kate has written articles on the BFC for providers and patients and the BFC at Walter Reed was featured on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”