2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
DUKE ENERGY CONVENTION CENTER
3/07/2023 | 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM | A Partnership between the Vermont Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (VTEHDI)and Vermont’s Single Point of Entry for Early Intervention | DECC 232
A Partnership between the Vermont Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (VTEHDI)and Vermont’s Single Point of Entry for Early Intervention
Collaboration between Vermont’s single point of entry for early intervention providers and the Vermont Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program (VTEHDI) began in 2003 through memorandums of agreement and grant agreements. This partnership provided the ability for sharing data and working toward a common goal of ensuring that infants diagnosed as Deaf or Hard Hearing were enrolled in services by six months of age. In 2020 changes with the agency housing early intervention and school based services created the opportunity for early intervention and some school based services to come under the umbrella of the VTEHDI Program. Covid-19 and a cyberattack at Vermont’s largest pediatric diagnostic center impacted screening, diagnosis and entrance into early intervention services during 2020 and 2021. The newly formed partnership allowed VTEHDI and early intervention to evaluate and assess policies and procedures during this challenging time. Over the last year quality improvement initiatives were introduced to identify areas of growth, improve and streamline processes including educating pediatric audiologists, referral and intake, family to family support, providing improved resources for families, and educating case managers.
This presentation will describe the many opportunities created by VTEHDI and Early Intervention being housed under one agency. Additional discussion will include the value of family to family support in the process from diagnosis to enrollment in early intervention.
- Participants will describe the impact of improved processes with a partnership between Early Intervention and VTEHDI.
- Participants will understand how to create partnerships and training materials with stakeholders including audiologists, early intervention providers and families.
- Participants will understand the importance of family to family support in the early intervention process.
Presentation:
3420032_15661LindaHazard.pdf
Handouts:
Handout is not Available
Transcripts:
3420032_15661LindaHazard.docx
Presenters/Authors
Tommy Horejes
(), The Access Foundation, Thorejes@gmail.com;
Thomas “Tommy” Horejes, Ph.D. has decades of academic and professional experience in legal policy & advocacy. His training in both the academic and professional canon is a multi/inter/trans disciplinary focus on law, advocacy, social justice & impact, policy studies, communication accessibility, and public administration. He takes great passion doing research & development on law, data, policy trends, education, consumer service, and innovation with the denominating factor in making a positive social impact to and for all.
Academically, Dr. Horejes has 15+ years of teaching disability policy, law, and sociology in higher education, 13+ peer-reviewed published articles including (Re)conceptualizing Disability Policy Frameworks for the Journal of Policy Practice, and presented 70+ scholarly works on legal policy, accessibility, education, and justice studies for industry conferences, including the International Sociological Association and the American Educational Research Association.
Professionally, he is current Chief Advocacy Officer for SignWow and former Director of Policy & Advocacy for Telecommunications for the Deaf/HH (TDI) as a national leader in policy advocacy, education, and innovation to foster full accessibility, equity, and inclusion in Information and Communications Technology. Prior to SignWow, Thomas was Associate Provost for Gallaudet University; and Executive Director of Deaf Empowerment Awareness Foundation (DEAF, Inc.), a non-profit organization dedicated to empower, raise Awareness, and bridge a sustainable Foundation of advocacy, communication and accessibility for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, and the Hearing communities. He was also a former advocate for the Greater Los Angeles Agency on Deafness (GLAD), the largest deaf-run non-profit organization that provided legal advocacy and empowerment to deaf and hard of hearing consumers.
Tommy currently serves on the Board for State of Maryland’s Hands & Voices, Deaf Youth Sports Foundation (dysf.org) and member of Maryland Department of Health’s Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Advisory Council. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri where he attended Central Institute for the Deaf (CID), he?? currently lives in rural Maryland with his wife and blended family of very active children. When he is not busy with legal policy advocacy work, he enjoys watching his kids play baseball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball along with road biking, cooking, and tending to his small farm and animals.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
Financial relationship with HRSA
CDC.
Nature: Grant Funding.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
Stacy Jordan
(), VTEHDI, Stacy.Jordan@partner.vermont.gov ;
Stacy Jordan is an audiologist and has been involved in various aspects of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) since 2001. Her experiences range from establishing and managing a hospital-based screening program, clinical work for a state-wide public health program screening children birth-eight years old, data base development, implementation and training, as well as education, training and collaboration with various community partners (Early Head Start/Head Start, pediatric primary care, home birth midwives, hospitals, audiologist and Early Intervention). Employed by the University of Vermont Medical Center and contracted to the department of health Family and Child Health Division. She has worked with NCHAM on various: Early Childhood Hearing Outreach (ECHO), Newborn Hearing Screening Training Curriculum (NHSTC), Virtual Site Visit (VSV), Cytomegalovirus (CMV) Conference planning as a host site and others.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.
AAA DISCLOSURE:
Financial -
No relevant financial relationship exists.
Nonfinancial -
No relevant nonfinancial relationship exists.