EARLY HEARING DETECTION AND INTERVENTION VIRTUAL CONFERENCE
MARCH 2-5, 2021

(Virtually the same conference, without elevators, airplane tickets, or hotel room keys)

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3/15/2022  |   10:35 AM - 11:00 AM   |  Equality Through Direct Referrals to Parent to Parent Support   |  Room 6

Equality Through Direct Referrals to Parent to Parent Support

Increasing our parent to parent support intakes by 228%, creating two new program roles and achieving jaw dropping data towards equitable family support across Illinois are what can arise from a parent to parent support program uniting with a state EHDI program through a formal business agreement. HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) recommends parent to parent support no later than 6 months of age. How do you achieve this important benchmark when the support program is not built into the state EHDI program? We will discuss the diversity transition a parent to parent support program experienced after shifting from an opt-in to opt-out program due to the business agreement with the state EHDI program. Join us as we share our rollout timeline, implementation recommendations, vetted data collection elements and findings from the first year.

  • Identify steps in the timeline that lead to an EHDI program partnering with and referring to a parent to parent support program.
  • Develop parent to parent support services data governance and standardization for reporting and quality improvement initiatives.
  • Recognize at least five domains that impact parent to parent support equality from direct referrals.

Presentation:
3353554_14989CarrieBalian.pdf

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

Transcripts:
CART transcripts are NOT YET available, but will be posted shortly after the conference


Presenters/Authors

Ginger Mullin (), Illinois Department of Public Health, ginger.mullin@illinois.gov;
Dr. Mullin has a bachelors degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a masters degree in Audiology from The University of Memphis. From 1996-1999 she worked for the Arkansas Department of Health specializing in pediatric diagnostics and amplification as well as infant hearing screening. In 1999, Ginger moved to Illinois where she specialized for six years as a pediatric audiologists performing electrophysiologic measures and pediatric hearing aid fittings. During that time she received her Au.D. from The University of Florida. Ginger has presented regionally and nationally in the areas of pediatrics and newborn hearing. Ginger has been the EHDI co-coordinator for the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program since 2005. She is currently employed by the Illinois Department of Public Health . Ginger currently works closely with the UIC- Division of Specialized Care for Children to address screening, diagnosis and intervention issues.


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

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Carrie Balian (InPerson), Illinois Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side, cbalian6@outlook.com;
Carrie Balian is the mother of five children. Her oldest child, Jack, was born deaf. Carrie and her husband, Andre, have been married for over 25 years and reside in Island Lake, IL. She has been the Coordinator of her state Parent to Parent support program, IL Hands & Voices Guide By Your Side (GBYS) for over 13 years. In continuing her ventures of representing families of children that are deaf and hard of hearing, Carrie has presented to groups nationwide and co-authored several publications including the NCHAM e-book. Carrie is currently serving as a board member on the Illinois Universal Newborn Screening Advisory Council and Illinois Hands & Voices. She is also an editor for JEHDI (Journal of Early Hearing Detection & Intervention) publications, participated on the Illinois Universal Newborn Hearing & Screening Advisory Board and Illinois Deaf Task Force. She has also participated as a parent professional on the NICHQ (National Institute for Children’s Healthcare Quality) national and statewide learning collaborative teams. In 2021, Carrie graduated from the Hands & Voices L2L (Leadership to Leadership) development cohort and in 2022 was awarded the EHDI Family Leadership Award. Carrie had the pleasure of participating in two national projects: FEHDI (Family EHDI) to help determine data points and definitions for family-based organizations for grant reporting purposes and VSV/Virtual Site Visit team that created materials and information to help support families before and after newborn hearing screening and the hospital teams that carry out newborn hearing screening. Carrie has also been recognized and awarded both nationally and locally for her support, commitment, and leadership in the field. Her educational background includes a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Management.


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

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Gabrielle Bires (Virtual), Illinois Department of Public Health / Early Hearing Detection and Intervention, Gabrielle.bires2@illinois.gov;
Gabrielle Bires is a Social Service Program Planner for the Illinois Department of Public Health EHDI Program. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health with a concentration in Health Care Planning and Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Ms. Bires received her Masters of Science Degree in Health Informatics with a concentration in health data science from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is currently working on her Health Disparity Research certificate through the University of Illinois at Chicago.


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