|
|
|
| You are here: DOH Home » CFH » MCH » Genetic Services » Early Hearing Loss | Search | Employees |
| Site Directory: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|
General Information • Genetics
www.doh.wa.gov
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Early Hearing-loss Program InformationEach year in Washington more than 200 infants are born with a hearing loss. It is important to find hearing problems as early as possible because a hearing loss can prevent a baby from learning speech and language. Early intervention services help infants and toddlers with hearing loss learn to listen and develop language. These services will reduce the impact hearing loss may have on a child's social and emotional development.Special equipment makes it possible to screen infants for hearing loss shortly after birth. The three primary goals of the EHDDI Program are to ensure that all infants born in Washington:
These goals are known as the 1-3-6 Plan. EHDDI System Information & Statistics The EHDDI program follows all infants born at non-military birthing hospitals in Washington to ensure they are screened for hearing loss and receive further testing if needed. Hospitals and clinics send the EHDDI program newborn hearing screening results on revised Newborn Screening cards (pictured below).
If an infant is referred to an audiologist for a diagnostic evaluation, the EHDDI program requests that the audiology clinic report risk factor information, diagnostic results, and if the infant was referred to early intervention services. We receive most diagnostic information from audiology clinics through a secure web application. However, some clinics also fax results to the EHDDI program. The following table summarizes the screening and diagnostic results reported to the EHDDI program for infants born in 2006 and 2007. This information was last updated on 3/30/09.
NICHQ Learning Collaborative In March 2008, the EHDDI program began a National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality (NICHQ) Learning Collaborative with the Washington State Epilepsy Program. This Learning Collaborative is a nine month project designed for teams to share and implement ideas for more timely, appropriate, coordinated, and family-centered care. The EHDDI Learning Collaborative Team consisted of parents, public health professionals, physicians, audiologists, care coordinators, early interventionists, and a Medicaid representative. Through this engaging and challenging project, our team developed and tested strategies to improve care for infants at each stage of the EHDDI system. EHDDI Summit The EHDDI program hosted its third EHDDI Summit on November 5-7, 2007, in Wenatchee, Washington. The purpose of the Summit was to expand coordination, planning and awareness among key EHDDI stakeholders in Washington. A total of 104 people attended, including audiologists, children with special health care needs coordinators, family resource coordinators, communication specialists, genetic counselors, members of the Deaf community, and educators. State Board of Health In March of 2007, the EHDDI Program presented to the Washington State Board of Health in response to a request to receive an update on Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) in the State of Washington. The State Boards of Health Report contains detailed information on current hearing screening rates in Washington State, collaborative efforts to support voluntary UNHS, status of Department of Health's system for monitoring, assisting, and evaluating UNHS programs, and ongoing issues related to UNHS in Washington. |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
