2026 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 15-17, 2026 • Jacksonville, FL
3/15/2026 | 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM | No Borders, No Barriers: Strengthening Cross-State EHDI Coordination for Continuity of Care | City Terrace 9
No Borders, No Barriers: Strengthening Cross-State EHDI Coordination for Continuity of Care
Continuity of care is essential for achieving EHDI outcomes, but challenges arise when infants are born in one state and reside in another—or are transferred out-of-state for NICU care. These scenarios, common in border communities and among medically fragile infants, create coordination challenges that even experienced programs struggle to manage. This session highlights how EHDI coordinators can strengthen interstate collaboration by leveraging informal relationships with hospitals and each other, even when formal data-sharing is limited. Attendees will walk away with peer-informed strategies to improve cross-state tracking and prevent loss to follow-up.
- Describe common continuity-of-care breakdowns for infants born or transferred across state lines.
- Apply collaborative strategies using relationships with hospitals and neighboring EHDI programs to track infants.
- Design informal workflows to follow up on cross-border cases where system integration is limited.
Presentation:
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Presenters/Authors
Mary Ellen Whigham
(Primary Presenter), Alabama Department of Public Health, mary.whigham@adph.stateal.us;
Mary Ellen Whigham is the Newborn Screening Nurse Supervisor and the Alabama EHDI Coordinator for the Alabama Department of Public Health.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Nonfinancial -