Los Angeles, CA—(May 11, 2007) - Starting today, infant hearing screening will be added to each child's medical chart alongside other, routine well-baby tests and measurements at five community clinics in Los Angeles. The new protocol is part of a model training program developed by John Tracy Clinic in collaboration with AltaMed Health Services Corporation, St. John's Well Child and Family Center, South Central Family Health Center and Venice Family Clinic. Major funding for BABY SOUND CHECK®, as the program is called, has been provided by Everybody Loves Raymond's Monica and Phil Rosenthal.
A demonstration screening and press announcement will be held on May 11, 2007 as part of Better Hearing and Speech Month. (Call 877-GO2ALTA for more event information.)
"As many as 30 to 50% of babies who do not pass hospital screenings at birth slip through the cracks," says John Tracy Clinic audiologist Christine Gilmore Eubanks, Ph.D., director of the program. "This situation has created a critical need to test babies at community clinics where many parents already take their children for their regular check-ups."
In the first three years, BABY SOUND CHECK® will assess and monitor the hearing health of over 10,000 children at the participating clinics and thousands more as the program becomes self-sustaining through federal reimbursements. Early detection and intervention have been shown to cause marked improvement in a deaf child's overall academic and social development, saving society as much as $500,000 per child in special education costs through high school.
"There are significant gaps in state newborn hearing screening procedures caused by babies with fluid in the ears, later onset hearing loss and lack of consistent follow-up," says Eubanks. "BABY SOUND CHECK® is designed to fill these gaps."
"When a child is born unable to hear, time is of the essence. The earlier we find these infants, the more dramatic are the benefits," adds AltaMed pediatrician and UCLA associate professor Dr. Parul Bahtia. "Early screening and follow-up are the cornerstones of good medical care. In some communities in Los Angeles, more than 90% of the children have never been screened for hearing loss."
At the onset of the program, John Tracy Clinic audiologists will conduct extensive training and orientation at five AltaMed clinics in the east Los Angeles area. BABY SOUND CHECK® takes advantage of the fact that infant hearing screening technologies, once prohibitively expensive and complex, have recently become affordable, portable and simplified for easy operation by trained medical staff. Once the training has been completed and the equipment and procedures are in place, the program will merge smoothly into existing well-baby care. The screening equipment chosen is designed to assess both the inner and middle ear functions in a few short minutes.
Children suspected of hearing loss will be referred to John Tracy Clinic for free comprehensive diagnostic evaluation, appropriate referral and follow-up. If significant hearing loss is confirmed, the families will be given guidance and information by JTC counselors and audiologists. Parents of children identified through the program will be assigned a case manager and invited to join JTC's free Parent/Infant Program.
BABY SOUND CHECK®, the first comprehensive program in the nation to build capacity in community clinics to screen and monitor the hearing health of infants and toddlers, has been endorsed by a broad coalition of policy makers and healthcare professionals, including the Los Angeles Unified School District, the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles and the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM).
The new model program, which will be replicated and disseminated nationally, has broad economic implications. According to NCHAM, which is funded in part through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the absence of infant screening and early intervention, the cost of educating one deaf child in special public programs through high school is less than one-tenth the cost of identifying other lower frequency birth defects.
All community clinics participating in Baby Sound Check® are federally qualified and specialize in meeting the healthcare needs of medically disadvantaged families and children. AltaMed Health Services Corporation, (www.altamed.org) an award-winning member of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County (CCALAC), has provided culturally appropriate, health and human services in Los Angeles County since 1969.
John Tracy Clinic (www.jtc.org), a pioneer in the field of auditory-oral, early childhood deaf education, was founded in 1942 by Louise Treadwell Tracy, wife of the actor Spencer Tracy. The Clinic, located at 806 West Adams Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90007, also maintains a satellite facility in Long Beach at 740 East Wardlow Road.
