PRMC Recognized for Screening Babies for Hearing Loss
By Palestine Herald-Press, Texas
Jun. 15–PALESTINE — Texas hospitals across the state screen newborns for hearing loss as part of a statewide public health initiative that is preventing many infants from suffering developmental delays associated with undetected hearing loss.
Palestine Regional Medical Center has been recognized by the state of Texas as one of the best in the state for screening newborn babies for hearing loss.
“Palestine Regional earned top marks with its recent certification as a ‘Distinguished Newborn Hearing Screening Program,’ the highest rating possible for a birthing hospital in Texas,” said Tim Flusche, PRMC CEO.
The goal of the program is to ensure that newborns who have hearing loss quickly get into services to develop their speech, language and learning. “We’re proud to offer this service to the families in our community,” said Flusche.
Palestine Regional Medical Center earned this recognition by ensuring families and their newborns receive top-quality services during their hospital birth admission. The Texas Department of State Health Services monitors hospital-based hearing screening programs to ensure specific quality benchmarks are met. To be certified, hospitals must screen newborns for hearing loss, refer those who need follow-up testing to audiologists, and inform parents and family doctors of hearing screening results. Certified hospitals have demonstrated a commitment to ensuring that those babies born with hearing loss are detected early and channeled to the best resources to get medical and educational attention.
The Texas newborn hearing screening program is one of the largest of its kind in the world and has continually ranked as one of the best in country since being implemented in 2001 by the Texas Legislature. Nearly 400,000 babies in Texas are screened annually because of this program.
About one baby in 1,000 are born with a hearing loss.
—–
To see more of the Palestine Herald-Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.palestineherald.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, Palestine Herald-Press, Texas
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.