Babies born at Wilson Memorial Hospital receive a test to determine whether or not they have a potential hearing problem. Recently, the hospital purchased new screening equipment with the help of donations made to the Wilson Memorial Hospital Foundation, the fundraising arm of the hospital.
“Without charitable donations such as these, it would be difficult for our hospital to continue making positive improvements to the services it offers to our community,” said Bonnie Faulkner, executive director of the Wilson Foundation.
Hearing loss is the most common congenital condition in the United States with 1 in every 650 newborns experiencing some form of hearing loss. The importance of early detection, intervention and treatment to the social and academic development of newborns that are deaf and hard of hearing cannot be overstated.
The State of Ohio mandates that a hearing screening is performed on every newborn before leaving the Hospital. In 2013, 783 babies were tested at Wilson Memorial. It is expected that there will be 668 newborns screened in 2014.
Wilson Memorial’s newborn hearing screening equipment was purchased in 2007 and repair parts are no longer available from the manufacturer.
“We’re so glad we were able to update this equipment in our department through the continuous support of our community,” said Jana Schnippel, director of the family birth center. “Without the hearing screening for newborns, the average age at which a child with hearing loss is identified is between 12 and 25 months. At that point there are already delays in speech and language development. That’s why it is so important that we have the most up to date technology for our newborns.”
For information about making a donation to the hospital, call the Wilson Foundation at (937) 498-5540 or visit the hospital’s website at www.wilsonhospital.com.