18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
Parents Making a Difference in Improving the NE-EHDI Program
The NE-EHDI Program’s mission is to develop, promote, and support systems to ensure all newborns in Nebraska receive hearing screenings, family-centered evaluations, and early intervention as appropriate. What better way to ensure success for assisting these families than to include parents in the follow-up process. NE-EHDI collaborated with H&V/GBYS for many years to identify and refer families to H&V/GBYS for family support. May, 2017, NE-EHDI established an agreement with H&V/GBYS for a parent guide to assist with NE-EHDI follow-up. The H&V/GBYS parent guide works with families and medical professionals to help coordinate the many steps involved with medical appointments, early intervention (EI), and other family support services.
The collaboration with H&V/GBYS is an opportunity for families statewide to connect with a parent guide with their first EHDI contact, and then be connected with the parent guide in their area. Families can learn from veteran parents about the challenges as well as the joys of raising a child who is deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). The guides are parents of a D/HH child who have been trained to provide support and advocacy for other families. They respond to the family’s individual needs to assist in helping their child reach their full potential.
NE-EHDI credits the collaboration efforts with H&V/GBYS as one reason for the improved percentage of infants diagnosed by 3 months of age, and referrals into EI. The H&V/GBYS parent guide worked with 1,194 families for EHDI follow-up during 6/1/17 – 6/30/18.
Diagnosis by 3 months of age:
Baseline data* = 58.3%
NE-EHDI Preliminary data 1/1/2017 – 12/31/2017 = 62.8%.
Refer to EI by 3 months of age:
Baseline data* = 63.1%
NE-EHDI Preliminary data 1/1/2017 – 12/31/2017 = 66.7%.
*Baseline data is the NE-EHDI data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Hearing Screening & Follow-up Survey (HSFS).
- Involve Hands & Voices/Guide By Your Side (H&V/GBYS) Parent Guide with the Nebraska Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (NE-EHDI) Program follow-up.
- Connect families earlier with family support.
- Improve outcomes for families by increasing percentage of infants diagnosed by 3 months of age and increasing the percentage of infants referred to early intervention (EI) by 3 months of age.
Poster:
18878_10270BrendaCoufal.pdf
Presenter: Brenda Coufal
Brenda Coufal has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Brenda has extensive experience in program management, planning and supervising; budget development and monitoring; survey methodology; grant writing and grant reports; and public relations. She has been with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services in the Public Health Division since February, 1999. Brenda was part of the team involved in the development of the policy guidelines, procedures, and protocols for starting the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) Program in Nebraska in 1999. She was the PRAMS Data Manager from February 1999 – March 2005 and the PRAMS Program Coordinator from April 2005 – August 2016. She has been the NE-EHDI Program Manager since August 10, 2016.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Shelli Janning is the Program Coordinator for the Nebraska Hands & Voices Guide by Your Side program. Shelli has her Master’s Degree in Human Services and has worked in the field of Special Education for 11 years before devoting her time more specifically to the Deaf and hard of hearing population. She is very passionate about advocacy and self-empowerment. Shelli is married to Mark and they have two daughters, Jerzie is 15 and Brooke who is 13 and is hard of hearing. Brooke has a unilateral hearing loss and wore a hearing aid for several years until she received a Cochlear Implant in July 2019.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
• Receives Salary for Employment from Nebraska Hands & Voices.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
MeLissa Butler has been with the Nebraska Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program since April, 2011, and serves as Community Health Educator Senior. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration/Technical Studies from Bellevue University. MeLissa’s training includes Evidence Based Public Health-A Course in Chronic Disease Prevention; American Sign Language; Genetics and Hearing Loss for EHDI Professionals; ASTra Family Support training; and she is a Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.