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ABSTRACT INFORMATION
Title: 'Innovative Protocols and Partnerships in Rhode Island Result in Significantly Improved Rescreen Rate' Track: 1 - EHDI Program Enhancement Keyword(s): Community-Based System, Protocol Improvement Learning Objectives: Identify the impact of protocol changes and community collaborations had on loss to follow-up rates. Abstract: Rhode Island consistently achieves a high newborn hearing screening rate, although follow-up for children who require re-screen or an audiological assessment continue to be a challenge. Changes to the EHDI follow-up protocol and community partnerships were created to improve the statewide capture rate. To assess the impact of these initiatives, the loss to follow-up data for the last five years, from 2008 through 2013 will be presented. Major protocol changes included A) families receive a rescreen appointment prior to hospital discharge, and B) the frequency of phone calls to families who do not have rescreen appointments at discharge was increased from one to three phone calls within the first week of discharge for notification that a rescreen is needed. Collaborations with the Rhode Island Parent Information Network (RIPIN), Primary Care Physicians, WIC, and Nurse Home Visiting agencies were implemented to improve the coordination of care by establishing valuable feedback loops. • RITRACK, the EHDI tracking system, generates quarterly reports listing the screening or diagnostic testing recommended for children requiring follow-up and mail to physicians. • RIPIN’s Pediatric Practice Enhancement Project (PPEP) places trained parent resource specialists into physician’s offices and pediatric clinics to offer peer support to families. Physicians and parent resource specialists use the report to reinforce EHDI goals and encourage families to schedule appropriate testing. • WIC staff will also inform RI families of the importance of early detection and assist with making follow-up appointments. A Hearing screening is offered to be completed during their WIC visit. • The Nurse home visiting program is contacted to reach out to families to offer in home screens or assist with making other follow up appointments. Data will be presented from 2008 to 2013 to determine the significant impact of recent program enhancements on the rescreen rate. Presentation: This presentation has not yet been uploaded or the speaker has opted not to make the presentation available online. Handouts: Handout is not Available
PRESENTER(S) / AUTHOR(S) INFORMATION
Tunisia Johnson - Primary Presenter,Author Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program      Credentials: AuD       Tunisia Johnson, AuD, CCC-A is the Audiologist Administrator of the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program (RIHAP). Dr. Johnson is an alumnus of Hampton University and Syracuse University, where she received her Doctorate in Audiology. Prior to her arrival to RIHAP, Dr. Johnson was a clinical audiologist in the Washington, DC area and a Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) fellow.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Receives Salary for Employment from Women & Infants Hospital.   Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist. Ellen Amore - Author RI Dept. of Health      Credentials: MS       Ellen is currently the Manager of KIDSNET, Rhode Island’s Integrated Child Health Information System that contains preventive health care (including EHDI) information for Rhode Island children. Other programs at the Rhode Island Department of Health that she has managed include Newborn Hearing Screening, Newborn Bloodspot Screening, Newborn Developmental Risk Assessment and home visiting. Prior to coming to Rhode Island, she was a Program Assistant at the University of Connecticut Center for Environmental Health, and worked on several health related research studies at the University of Connecticut and Yale University. Her education includes a BA in Human Biology, with a concentration in child development, from Stanford University, and an MS in Maternal and Child Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial - Betty Vohr - Author Women & Infants Hospital      Credentials: MD      Other Affiliations: Association of University Centers on Disabilities.       Betty R. Vohr, MD has been the director of Women & Infants Hospital’s Neonatal Follow-up Clinic since 1974 and medical director of the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program since 1990. She has been the national coordinator of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network follow-up studies since 1990. Dr. Vohr’s primary clinical and research interests focus on improving the long-term outcomes of high-risk premature infants and infants with hearing loss. Dr. Vohr is currently participating in studies investigating the outcomes of premature infants and the outcomes of infants with hearing loss. She has published 200 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, as well as numerous textbook chapters and has been an invited speaker throughout the country and the world. Dr. Vohr played an instrumental role in the development of the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program (RIHAP), which was established in 1990. Based at Women & Infants, RIHAP became the first public health program in the United States to achieve universal newborn hearing screening for all infants born in Rhode Island. After the project gained momentum, Dr. Vohr and her colleagues were invited to present the findings at an NIH Consensus Development Conference, which subsequently recommended that all babies in the United States be screened for hearing loss. She is a recipient of the Antonia Brancia Maxon award for EHDI Excellence, has served as a member of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing, and recently received the Stan and Mavis Graven’s Leadership Award for Outstanding Contributions to Enhancing the Physical and Developmental Environment for High-Risk Infants and their Families.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial - Rebecca Vargas - Author RIHAP, Women & Infants' Hospital      Credentials: .       Rebecca is the follow-up coordinator at the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial - Elsbeth Brown - Author RI Parent Information Network      Credentials: AS       Elsbeth is the Family Resource Specialist for the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment program. Elsbeth is the Mom of two snd has a son who has profound hearing loss.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exist. Nonfinancial - No relevant nonfinancial relationship exist. Pauline Belmonte - Author Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program      Credentials: _       Pauline is the Medical Data Clerk for the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Program.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial - Richard Lupino - Author RI Dept of Health      Credentials: AS       Rich recieved an AS degrees from Community College of RI in Chemistry and an AS from New England Tech in Computer Science. He currently is the data manager for the Rhode Island EHDI data, as well as for other newborn and early childhood datasets.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial - Fiordaliza Then - Author RI Dept of Health      Credentials: MD       Liza received a Doctor in Medicine from Universidad Iberoamericana School of Medicine in the Dominican Republic. She is currently the state EHDI coordinator for Rhode Island. She previously worked as a CNA, a parent consultant, and a WIC Community Liaison.       ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -