17th ANNUAL EARLY HEARING DETECTION & INTERVENTION MEETING
March 18-20, 2018 • Denver, CO
THE ANTONIA BRANCIA MAXON AWARD FOR EHDI EXCELLENCE
Nominations are invited for the Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence to be presented at the 2018 National EHDI Meeting in Denver, Colorado. This award honors the life and work of Dr. Antonia Brancia Maxon to promote effective Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) programs for all newborns, infants, and young children. Dr. Maxon was a pioneer in EHDI programs, beginning with her leadership in the Rhode Island Hearing Assessment Project in the late 1980's. She was one of the first to recognize the feasibility and value of universal newborn hearing screening and was a tireless advocate for connecting screening programs with timely and appropriate diagnosis and early intervention.
Her extensive contributions to creating excellent EHDI programs were abruptly ended by a tragic automobile accident in May of 2007. In memory of her contributions, an Award for EHDI Excellence is presented each year at the National EHDI Meeting to honor an individual who has made outstanding contributions to achieving excellence in EHDI programs nationally or in a particular state or region.
Presentation of the 2018 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence will be made on Monday March 19, 2018 at the National EHDI Meeting in Denver, Colorado. More about the National EHDI Meeting, including past nominees and recipients can be found below.
Lenore Holte
The Iowa EHDI program is pleased to nominate Dr. Lenore Holte for the 2018 Antonia Brancia Maxon Award for EHDI Excellence. Dr. Holte has been instrumental in guiding the EHDI program forward in Iowa for nearly 20 years. She has used her unique position in the state to not only provide policy guidance and best practice recommendations for the EHDI program itself, but to educate audiologists and allied health professionals about EHDI and the lives it touches. Dr. Holte has been a trusted resource for audiologists in Iowa and beyond, and is known for her commitment to excellence in pediatric audiology. Dr. Holte has been a Clinical Associate Professor (2001-2007) and Clinical Professor (2007-present) at the University of Iowa's Department of Communication Sciences. She has encouraged and influenced undergraduate and graduate students in pediatric audiology, and has included perspectives of policy-makers, professionals, and families within the EHDI process in the classroom. This is where students gain knowledge of the history of the EHDI program. She has collaborated with the EHDI program and mentored many student projects and research focused on continued EHDI system improvements, and has been a strong advocate for EHDI best practices in the student clinic environment.
Dr. Holte was the Audiology Training Director for Iowa's LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities) program from 1998-2007 and the LEND Director from 2007-2017. No Iowa LEND trainee, no matter their discipline, has left the program without knowing how congenital and childhood hearing losses impact language and psychosocial development, and just how much EHDI programs stand to improve those children's lives and outcomes.
Dr. Holte has directly influenced the Iowa EHDI program in countless ways. She was the program director for several years when the program was first being established and a consultant since that time. She has given lectures and trainings, performed research with other nationally known pioneers in newborn hearing screening and follow-up, written newsletter articles, facilitated audiology work groups, mentored audiologists on diagnostic testing, fielded calls from audiologists or physicians, spoke to families about screening, diagnostic assessments or risk factors and provided advice and guidance in numerous ways. She was a part of an audiology workgroup providing guidance to restructure the diagnostic assessment module of the web-based data system making it more user-friendly. She has served on Iowa's EHDI Advisory Committee since its inception alongside parents, consumers and a diverse group of professionals. She has advocated for legislation to provide a supportive framework for the success of the program. She has written for grants when funding was not available to hold conferences for professionals and families or when other needs were not being met.
It is difficult to quantify Dr. Holte's impact on the EHDI system, as her influence is so varied and far reaching. Her direct contributions on the EHDI system may only be surpassed by the number of individuals she has educated and inspired to provide evidence-based care, call a legislator, pursue education, or question a standard.