16th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
February 26-28, 2017 • Atlanta, GA
THE ANTONIA BRANCIA MAXON AWARD FOR EHDI EXCELLENCE
Washington State EHHDI Team (Deb Lochner Doyle, Karen Neidt, Marcie Rider, and Julie Walker)
I would like to wholeheartedly nominate our WA Early Hearing-loss Detection, Diagnosis and Intervention (EHDDI) team for the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence! This team of consists of four extraordinary women: Deb Lochner, Karin Neidt, Marcie Rider, and Julie Walker. The WA EHDDI team is committed to excellence as exhibited by their ongoing Continuous Quality Improvement (Plan-Do-Study-Act) strategies and successes. A few examples: In 2012, just 22% of infants born at home or a free-standing birth center were screened for hearing loss. For infants born in 2014, this increased to 40% of out-of-hospital births screened. Preliminary data for infants born in 2015 show this increased to over 45% screened. Since WA ranks fourth in the nation for the highest number of out-of-hospital births, we believe this is a significant accomplishment!
The WA EHDDI team led an initiative that significantly increased the rate of infants in Washington who received conclusive diagnostic evaluations after not passing their newborn hearing screenings. Among infants born in Washington in 2012, 23% did not receive a conclusive diagnostic evaluation after being referred to audiology after not passing their hearing screening. The WA EHDDI team sought to identify program and procedural improvements to increase the rate of infants receiving a conclusive diagnostic evaluation. Preliminary data for infants born in Washington in 2015 indicate that the WA EHDDI initiative has been successful - just 7% of infants who did not pass their hearing screening were lost to follow up after being referred for an audiology evaluation. This represents a decrease of 16% over 3 years in WA EHDDI lost to follow up rates, demonstrating that increased efforts to contact audiology clinics proved useful in closing the lost to follow-up/loss to documentation gap!
It is a sheer joy to come to work each day knowing that these women will be working. They are insightful yet funny. Hard workers but also know when to relax and enjoy one another as people. And always consummate professionals and public servants!
Thank you for your considering the nomination of the WA EHDDI team for the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence.