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1998 SESSION

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HB 916 Hearing Impairment Identification and Monitoring System.

Introduced by: L. Karen Darner | all patrons    ...    notes | add to my profiles

SUMMARY:

Virginia Hearing Impairment Identification and Monitoring System. Clarifies the requirements of the infant hearing impairment identification system. The bill requires all infants born in hospitals to be given hearing screenings by July 1, 1999. Newborns are to be tested and all infants born outside hospitals are to be offered screenings by July 1, 2000. Present law authorizes reporting of information to parents and physicians; this bill requires the Commissioner to contact the parents of children, their physicians and the local early intervention programs. Board regulations will require anyone making a determination that an infant is at risk for hearing impairment or has failed a hearing screening or has not been tested to notify the parent or guardian of the child, the primary care physician, and the Commissioner of Health. This bill also requires the appointment of an advisory committee (currently, the Commissioner of Health has the discretion to appoint this committee), adds revision of the system to its responsibilities, and requires its membership to include a representative of the health insurance industry; at least one pediatrician or family practitioner, one otolaryngologist, and one neonatologist; nurses representing newborn nurseries; audiologists; hearing aid dealers and fitters; teachers of the deaf and hard-of-hearing; parents of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing; and adults who are deaf or hard-of-hearing. No testing will be performed if the parents of the infant object because of bona fide religious convictions. Recent studies indicate that 1.5 to 6 per 1,000 infants experience hearing loss (American Academy of Pediatrics). Young children with hearing loss who are not treated early suffer significant language development delays. Many of these children require intensive therapy and yet may never develop age-appropriate language skills. This bill is identical to SB 59 and HB 916.


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