Nebraska Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion Campaign

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According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• Hearing loss is the most common birth defect in the US.
• Hearing loss can affect a child's ability to develop on time speech, language, social and emotional skills.
• The earlier children identified as deaf or hard of hearing begin receiving services, the more likely they are to reach their full potential.
• CDC-supported research show meeting the 1-3-6 Benchmarks results in better vocabulary development for children who are d/hh. 

Important 1-3-6 Benchmarks established by the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH):

• All babies should have a hearing screening before 1 month of age.
• A hearing evaluation, if needed should be completed before 3 months of age.
  
• Infants identified as d/hh should be enrolled in early intervention by 6 months of age

The success of meeting the 1-3-6 benchmarks depends on professionals like you. Approximately 55 infants are identified as deaf or hard of hearing annually in Nebraska due to the work NE-EHDI does with our partners including birth hospitals.

The goal of the Nebraska Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion campaign is to provide evidence-based education to birthing hospital staff who work directly with families. Your hospital can make an impact by joining our exciting venture to help professionals understand that how they communicate results to parents can impact timely follow-up when an infant does not pass the newborn hearing screening. This will provide a consistent baseline education for all hospital personnel caring for newborns.

Increased awareness of newborn hearing screening will result in:

• More babies identified as deaf or hard of hearing by three months of age
• Fewer babies left without early access to language
• More deaf and hard of hearing children staying on track with their hearing peers
• Better educational and vocational outcomes for deaf and hard of hearing children as they grow into adults
• Potential tax dollar savings of $2.3M* annually for the Nebraska special education system. (*Based on the average of $420,000/child X the average of 55 babies identified as d/hh each year in Nebraska)

NE-EHDI provides education brochures and cards free of charge so healthcare providers can educate parents about the importance of hearing in a child's cognitive, academic, social, and emotional development. 

Becoming a Hospital Champion:

The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and NE-EHDI invite you to join the Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion campaign. Nebraska birthing hospitals that routinely deliver babies touch the lives of newborns, parents, and caregivers.  Every day, health providers can educate parents about the importance of early hearing detection and intervention to protect babies from missing out on the most critical period in early childhood for speech and language development. Your hospital can make an impact by joining our exciting venture.

5 steps to becoming a Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion:

• Take the Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion Pledge
• Develop or update current Newborn Hearing Screening Policy
• Hospital personnel education and education plan
• Provide patient/client education
• Complete Internal audits annually

Please join us in taking all the steps needed to ensure we are identifying infants who are deaf or hard of hearing as soon as possible so they can stay on track with their hearing peers and reach their full potential.

Congratulations to St Francis Memorial Hospital in West Point Nebraska for becoming the first Newborn Hearing Hospital Champion! The staff at St Francis volunteered to be the pilot hospital for this initiative and offered valuable feedback to Nebraska EHDI along the way. MeLissa Butler, Community Health Educator Sr. for the NE-EHDI program presented the certificate to the newborn nursery staff on December 30, 2019.