(FARMINGTON, MO – August 14, 2020) – Children at risk for hearing and speech disorders don’t always have access to the clinic evaluation and follow-up care they need. St. Louis Children’s Hospital, ranked one of the nation’s best pediatric hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, has partnered with Parkland Health Center through their Mobile Speech and Audiology Clinic to help address this issue in our local communities.
On Thursday, August 13, the mobile clinic made its first onsite visit to Parkland to serve area patients. It will continue to visit Parkland Health Center-Farmington the second Thursday of each month providing patients with an opportunity to have their hearing evaluated.
The mobile unit contains three patient areas: a multipurpose room, a patient intake and hearing device programming area, and a double-walled sound booth. It serves children from birth to 21 years of age who are at risk for hearing difficulties or who have been diagnosed with hearing impairment. The mobile clinic operates year-round, Monday through Friday, traveling throughout a three-hour radius of St. Louis. Appointments are required.
“The Children's Audiology Team is so excited to partner with Parkland Health Center to bring specialized hearing services to kids in the Farmington region” said Jamie Cadieux, AuD, CCC-A, Supervisor, Audiology and Cochlear Implants at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “We know pediatric hearing services can be hard to find, and traveling to St. Louis to get these services can be difficult, or even impossible. We want to make it easier for children to get the hearing care they need, and the Parkland Health Center team has been key to making that happen.”
The mobile hearing and speech clinic provides convenient access to:
- Otoscopy, otoacoustic emission testing and tympanometry
- Non-sedated screening and diagnostic Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) measures
- Behavioral hearing tests via pure-tone audiometry for patients 6 months and older
- Rehabilitative care for children with hearing loss
- Fitting and maintenance of hearing aids, bone conduction systems, cochlear implants, FM/DM systems and assistive devices
- Speech and language evaluation and therapy (including spoken language, American Sign Language, Total Communication and more)
- Coordinated audiologic care to support physician practices or educational institutions
To make an appointment, speak with your child’s primary care physician for a referral or call 314-454-6171 for more information.