Every year, hearing and speech professionals around the world dedicate the month of May to raising awareness about communication challenges and highlighting the importance of early detection and intervention.
At Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia (HSNS), our vision is every person deserves a voice; every voice deserves to be heard. This vision rings particularly true during Speech and Hearing Month.
This month represents so much more than our commitment to providing quality audiology and speech-language pathology services to Nova Scotians. We asked members of our team to learn what this month and our mission means to them.
Many take the ability to communicate – such as the ability to speak and hear – for granted. Speech and Hearing Month represents our commitment to supporting communication between loved ones.
“This is a month when we bring awareness to how important our individual speech and hearing is to us, and more importantly, what can be done to improve any deficiencies we might have in each of these senses.” – Gordon Moore, HSNS Board of Directors.
Our patients have seen new and unforeseen challenges through the pandemic as masks impede speech and lip-reading cues. Our teams have adapted to the evolving situation in Nova Scotia to continue to provide the highest quality care possible to patients.
More than 100,000 Nova Scotians of all ages live with communications challenges. These challenges impact not only the individuals living with them, but their families and loved ones too.
With 35 clinical sites across Nova Scotia, our staff works to enhance Nova Scotians’ quality of life by providing quality speech-language pathology and audiology care.
Over the past 14 months, our team has worked to find innovative ways to provide care through the pandemic, adapting to changing circumstances and restrictions. From offering telehealth services to adapting the way we deliver in-person care, we’ve worked hard to deliver quality services to Nova Scotians during these challenging times.
Since 2006, HSNS has screened over 100,000 newborn babies for hearing loss. Around three in 1,000 infants are affected by hearing loss. The earlier hearing loss is detected, the earlier HSNS can provide treatment options to parents.
Through our Partners in Care Committee, we’ve delivered client-centred care by giving past and present clients a seat at the table to shape the way care is delivered to Nova Scotians.
This year as we commemorate Speech and Hearing Month, we thank our employees for being on the frontlines amid the pandemic, delivering critical hearing and speech services to Nova Scotians, and we commend our clients for their continued resilience and inspiration.