A National Technical Assistance System for EHDI Programs

Number of Hospitals Doing Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Number of Programs

Status of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening in the United States.. Percentage of Births Screened 90% % % %

Tremendous Progress During the Last Decade Less than 30 hospitals with UNHS in 1993; compared with almost 1400 in May of million babies are screened every year prior to discharge 33 states have passed newborn hearing screening legislation The federal government is providing financial support to encourage expansion

The Other Side of the Coin.... 2,800 hospitals are not yet screening for hearing loss 2 million babies are NOT screened every year prior to discharge Many states which have passed legislation have not yet implemented it completely Only 9 states (accounting for 7% of the births) have implemented reasonable state-wide programs

Status of EHDI Programs in the United States Universal Newborn Hearing Screening Effective Tracking and Follow-up as a part of the Public Health System Appropriate and Timely Diagnosis of the Hearing Loss Prompt Enrollment in Appropriate Early Intervention A Medical Home for all Newborns Culturally Competent Family Support Elimination of geographic and financial barriers to service access

Efforts by the Federal Government to Promote Early Identification of Hearing Loss Federal funding for research and program development NIH Consensus Development Conference in 1993 Consortium for Universal Newborn Hearing Screening funded in 1993 Marion Downs National Center for Infant Hearing Established in 1996 National EHDI Technical Assistance System Established in 2000

Goal of the National EHDI Technical Assistance System Every child born with a hearing loss will be identified before 3 months of age and provided with timely and appropriate early intervention before 6 months of age Every family of an infant with hearing loss will receive culturally competent family support as desired All newborns will have a medical home State will have tracking and data management systems which are linked to appropriate public health information systems

National EHDI Technical Assistance System EHDI Network members located in each of ten geographic regions

Region I (38% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Antonia MaxonB Region IV (46% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Faye McCollister Region III (49% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Sean Kastetter Region VI (38% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Karen Ditty Patti Martin Region VII (33% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Les Schmeltz Region IX (23% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Randi Winston Yusnita Weirather Region II (16% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Beth Prieve Region V (26% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Karen Munoz Region X (21% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Curt Whitcomb Region VIII (91% currently born in UNHS hospitals) Terry Foust National EHDI Assistance Network - VIII IX VII VI V IV III II I X Guam, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Palau, No. Mariana Islands, Fed. Micronesia Puerto Rico Virgin Islands = indicates the locations of MCHB Regional Offices

Examples of Network Activities Training of Trainers Workshop (October 2000) Individualized TA with state EHDI programs NEC*TAS Webcast for Part C Programs MCHB Grant Assistance Workshop May 2001 Regional workshops on Diagnostic ABR (planned for Oct 2001)

Regional Workshops on Audiological Diagnosis First year will focus on diagnostic ABR (subsequent years on behavioral techniques and hearing aid fitting) Online materials for mastery learning prior to workshops Hands-on small group workshop Supervised practicum in local area following workshop

National EHDI Technical Assistance System (continued) EHDI Network members located in each of the MCHB regions Information dissemination and training

Support for Program Implementation Step-by-step Implementation Guide Distributed by MCHB to all birthing facilities in the US Down load from the web at Linked to examples of materials from existing programs

Contents of Implementation Guide Enlisting support Determining a protocol Dealing with procedural issues Communicating with parents, physicians, etc. Training screeners Keeping referral rates low Managing data and follow-up Financing the program Reporting Completing diagnostics Coordinating with state systems

Sound Ideas Newsletter Published Quarterly Topical articles, suggestions for program improvement Upcoming events Available online or mailed

National EHDI Technical Assistance System (continued) EHDI Network members located in each of the MCHB regions Information dissemination and training Web site (

National EHDI Technical Assistance System (continued) EHDI Network members located in each of the MCHB regions Information dissemination and training Web site ( Collaboration with other groups and agencies

National EHDI Technical Assistance System (continued) Groups actively promoting and assisting with EHDI activities –AG Bell, NCHH, ASHA, AAA, JCIH, AAP, ASDC Relevant groups whose main focus is elsewhere –MCHB Regional Staff, SKI-HI, NEC*TAS, Early Head Start, 0-3, Family Voices, NCCC, KidsNET, STC, AMCHP, AHEC Collaboration with Other Groups and Agencies