18th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 3-5, 2019 • Chicago, IL
3/05/2019 | 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM | Expanding Tele-audiology Services in Rural Alaska: An EHDI Pilot Program | Paris
Expanding Tele-audiology Services in Rural Alaska: An EHDI Pilot Program
Alaska’s geographic challenges complicates the extreme pediatric audiologists’ shortage. 86% of our communities are not connected to the road system so children who refer in remote communities are frequently placed on a waitlist to be seen at itinerant clinics or they need to be flown to a regional hub location for diagnostic follow-up. Telehealth can improve the timeliness of screening and diagnosis. Much of rural Alaska is populated by Alaska Natives, who are beneficiaries of Alaska’s tribal health system. The Alaska EHDI program partnered with one of the tribal health providers, the Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) to expand the use of telehealth to entities in the state that already have access and are utilizing the state telehealth solution, the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s Alaska Federal Health Care Access Network (AFHCAN). The overarching goal was to expand the existing telehealth practice at NSHC to include tele-audiology capabilities in six of their remote locations. Located in Nome, NSHC serves 15 communities with populations that range from 150 to 750 residents located within 44,000 square miles (roughly the size of Louisiana). The equipment was placed in several remote communities and the initial results of the project are promising. Infrastructure at NSHC has contributed to success of the project. While there are several tribal health regions in the state of Alaska that could benefit from additional equipment and telehealth resources, they lack the necessary infrastructure. Expanding audiology services via telehealth practice requires the commitment of stakeholders and partners to find sustainable solutions. This presentation will provide a description of the telehealth solutions in place, case examples of implementation, and review components necessary for a successful program. We anticipate that knowledge of our pilot program and our experiences will be of use to other states or territories considering implementing tele-audiology.
- Participants will be able to describe system resources that contribute to a successful tele-auditory project.
- Identify strategies to use tele-audiology in real word conditions
- Participants will experience a tele-audiology session
Presentation:
18878_10461AnnetteCallies-30Min.pdf
18878_10461SamanthaKleindienstRobler.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
18878_10461AnnetteCallies.docx
Presenters/Authors
Samantha Kleindienst Robler, AuD, PhD
(), Norton Sound Health Corporation Audiology Manager, skleindienst@NSHCORP.ORG;
Samantha Kleindienst Robler, AuD, PhD completed her undergraduate degree at University of Pittsburgh with a focus in American Sign Language and Deaf culture, and her graduate education (AuD, PhD) at Gallaudet University. She completed two post-doctoral fellowships at Mayo Clinic in Florida and Mayo Clinic in Arizona. She is currently the Director of Audiology at Norton Sound Health Corporation in Nome, Alaska, where she is a progressive leader in telemedicine development and application in service provision.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.
Annette Callies
(), State of Alaska, annette.callies@alaska.gov;
Annette is responsible for management of the EHDI Program. As Coordinator of Quality Improvement Team, she guides policies to increase follow-up rates. She serves as the lead on follow-up activity analysis, interpretation, and reporting on programmatic data to plan or reconfigure systems to improve efficiency, including provision of technical assistance as required. Annette also provides education to health care providers, early intervention specialists and parents about the program and monitors the State database for timeliness of referrals and to identify and resolve system issues. To engage a diverse group of stakeholders in systems improvement, she plans and facilitates the EHDI Advisory Committee Meetings and provides technical assistance to sub-committees. In her free time, Annette enjoys painting, portrait photography and playing with her five grandbabies.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exist.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist.