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

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

<< BACK TO AGENDA

3/09/2015  |   11:35 AM - 12:05 PM   |  Out-of-Hospital Midwives: Improving Compliance with Hearing Screening   |  Willis   |  1

Out-of-Hospital Midwives: Improving Compliance with Hearing Screening

Newborn hearing screening laws and programs are usually implemented with little consideration of (or input from) midwives delivering in out-of-hospital settings (homes or birth centers). Often these midwives are not well-integrated with local health departments or other medical institutions in their communities. Many may not even be aware of their responsibilities to perform or obtain hearing screening for their newborn patients. As a result, states generally see low hearing screening rates for babies born under their care. The Utah Department of Health created an outreach program which greatly increased the rates of newborn hearing screening among babies born out-of-hospital in Utah. This session will show what Utah did to increase screening rates and share ideas for how could you duplicate this success.

  • Identify the unique characteristics of out-of-hospital midwives and their clients that hinder their compliance with newborn hearing screening mandates.
  • Using Utah's experience as a model, implement strategies for overcoming these barriers.

Presentation:
This presentation has not yet been uploaded.

Handouts:
Handout is not Available

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


Presenters/Authors

Suzanne Smith (Primary Presenter,POC), BetterBirth, LLC, suzanne@betterbirth.com;
Suzanne has been a practicing midwife for 20 years. She was a primary author of the Direct-Entry Midwife Act (to license midwives in Utah) and was the first midwife to hold that license. She is a past president of the Utah Midwives' Association, was the Academic Dean for the Midwives College of Utah for seven years, and chaired Utah's Direct-Entry Midwifery Board and its Rules Committee. She currently serves as the midwife representative on the State of Utah's Hearing Screening Committee. She operates two successful birth centers and a home birth practice with three other wonderful midwives.


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Krysta Badger (Co-Presenter), Utah Department of Health, kbehring@utah.gov;
Krysta Badger is the Data Manager for the Newborn Hearing Screening Program at the Utah Department of Health. She has also worked as the LTFU Coordinator at the Utah Department of Health.


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -

Shannon Wnek (Co-Presenter), Utah Dept of Health and Human Services, swnek@utah.gov;
Dr. Wnek is the Utah Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Audiology Coordinator, responsible for providing audiological and programmatic support to birthing facilities, hospital audiologists and midwives across the state. In addition, she regularly completes Quality Assurance activities and is considered the “Utah EHDI Compliance Officer”. Clinically, Dr. Wnek graduated with her Doctor of Audiology from the University of Utah in 2009 and is a pediatric audiologist at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, Children with Special Healthcare Needs Office. She is a graduate of the URLEND (Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) program with a special emphasis on Infant and Pediatric Audiology. Her interests include early identification of hearing loss, quality assurance and improvement, tele-ABRs and supporting families of children with special healthcare needs.


ASHA DISCLOSURE:

Financial -

Nonfinancial -