NEWS RELEASES
Texas Children’s Hospital and The Center for Hearing and Speech Announce Partnership to Provide Collaborative Pediatric Care

HOUSTON – (Oct. 15, 2009) – Texas Children’s Hospital and The Center for Hearing and Speech (CHS) have announced a partnership that will enhance healthcare for children with hearing impairments. As part of this formal partnership, Texas Children’s pediatric cochlear implant surgery recipients will benefit from both organizations’ combined resources to receive the best possible coordinated and comprehensive care.

“We are excited to form this tremendous partnership with The Center for Hearing and Speech that will benefit pediatric healthcare throughout Houston and beyond,” said Dr. John Oghalai, Clinic Chief of The Hearing Center at Texas Children's Hospital. “Every year our team has been performing an increasing number of cochlear implants and these patients require close, integrated management and therapy for many years afterwards. This partnership with CHS will expand our program in a way that will enhance our ability to provide our patients the best speech and language outcomes.”

A multidisciplinary team of physicians and experts from Texas Children’s and CHS will work together to assess children as young as 12 months with profound hearing loss to determine cochlear implant candidacy. The team, including experts in neurotology, audiology, speech pathology, genetics, neuropsychology, developmental neurology and family services, will help guide children and their families through evaluations to the surgical implantation at Texas Children’s and the subsequent, critical treatment.

According to Oghalai, approximately 1 in 1,000 children are born with hearing loss severe enough to warrant a cochlear implant, one of the most innovative treatment options available for children with hearing disorders. Although the implant does not restore hearing, it provides the ability to perceive sounds, allowing a child to hear and understand more speech than possible with only a hearing aid.

Dr. Jennifer Wickesberg, director of audiology at CHS, acknowledges that cochlear implant surgery is only the first step in a child’s journey to listening, speaking, and learning. “Many of our implanted students had their surgery at Texas Children’s Hospital so a formal partnership allows us to collaborate on education and therapy, expediting the treatments these children need on a daily basis.” As the number of pediatric cochlear implant surgeries increase, so does the need for vital, follow-up speech therapy, audiological management and education.

About The Center for Hearing and Speech
The Center for Hearing and Speech (formerly known as Houston School for Deaf Children) is a non-profit, United Way agency that teaches children with hearing impairments speaking, listening and literacy skills. CHS was founded in 1947 by four parents who wanted their children with hearing impairments to communicate by speaking instead of using sign language. Each year, CHS provides education, audiology, speech pathology and family support services to more than 1,200 children with mild to profound hearing loss and to thousands of others with needs related to hearing loss. It is the only full-service resource in Houston that specializes in Oral Deaf Education. For additional information, please call (713) 523-3633 or visit www.centerhearingandspeech.org.

About Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital is committed to a community of healthy children by providing the finest pediatric patient care, education and research. Renowned worldwide for its expertise and breakthrough developments in clinical care and research, Texas Children’s is ranked in the top ten best children’s hospitals by U.S. News and World Report. Texas Children’s also operates the nation’s largest primary pediatric care network, with over 40 offices throughout the greater Houston community. Texas Children’s has embarked on a $1.5 Billion expansion, Vision 2010, which includes a Neurological Research Institute, a comprehensive obstetrics facility focusing on high risk births, and a community hospital in suburban West Houston. For more information, visit www.texaschildrens.org.