COEHDI History

COEHDI is the newest addition to a long history of the EHDI system, local and national efforts by organizations, and federal endeavors to improve the outcomes of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Below, we present a combined history that reflects efforts on the state, national, and international levels as it pertains to the EHDI system as it stands today in Colorado.

• 1880
  • National Association of the Deaf established
• 1890
  • AGBell National Organization founded (When was Colorado Chapter formed?)
• 1904
  • Colorado Association of the Deaf established
• 1960
  • The American Speech and Hearing Association (with support from the Children’s Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) convened an expert working group to develop guidelines for “Identification Audiometry” (White, 2015)
• 1965
  • U.S. Department of Education issues its Babbidge Report on education of the deaf in the United States. It recommends early identification and evaluation of hearing loss (White, 2015)
• 1967
  • Downs and Sterritt promoted early intervention of infants before 6 months of age and trained volunteers in seven Denver hospitals to observe newborn responses to auditory stimuli (Yoshinaga-Itano & Thomson, 2008)
• 1969
  • Listen Foundation founded
  • Dinah Beams says that CHIP was started in 1969 as part of a federal demonstration grant at the University of Denver (see here)
• 1970
  • Project Parent-Child founded at the University of Denver via a federal grant to provide home intervention.
  • Eventually adopted by the Colorado Department of Health, Handicapped Children’s Programs. Average of 10 families per year served during the early 1970s. Elements of SKI-HI curriculum was used (Yoshinaga-Itano & Thomson, 2008)
  • LENA says CHIP began in 1970 – same as Project Parent-Child? Vickie Thompson says it was founded in early 1980 by Christie Yoshinaga-Itano (in an HRSA supplemental grant application)
• 1972
  • CSHCN operates the CHIP (according to this)
• 1973
  • National committee on neonatal hearing screening, chaired by Marion Downs, was formed eventually leading to the development of the Joint Committee on Infant Hearing (JCIH)
• 1982
  • At a convention of the Directors of Speech and Hearing in State Health and Welfare Agencies, Colorado presented its statewide program implemented by the Colorado Department of Health, Hearing and Speech Services. The program tracked DHH infants through a home intervention program (Yoshinaga-Itano & Thomson, 2008)
• 1988
  • Congressionally mandated Commission on Education of the Deaf calls for the Department of Education and HHS assist states in implementing improved screening procedures
  • CHIP regionalized implementation of EHDI program
• 1989
  • Dr. C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General of the United States, called for increased efforts to identify congenital hearing loss during the first few months of life (White, 2015)
• 1992
  • four hospitals began voluntarily participating in newborn hearing screening
  • (Yoshinaga-Itano & Thomson, 2008) says it’s two hospitals (Colorado General Hospital -now University and Boulder Community Hospital)
• 1993
  • National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Panel recommends screening of all newborns (White, 2015)
• 1995
  • World Health Organization urges member states to prepare national plans for early detection (White, 2015)
• 1995-1996
  • 27 birthing hospitals voluntarily participated in newborn hearing screening (Mehl & Thomson, 2002)
• 1996
  • Hands and Voices founded in Colorado
• 1997
  • Colorado House Bill 97-1095 was passed promoting statewide expansion of hospital-based newborn hearing screening (Mehl & Thomson, 2002)
• 1998
  • Maternal and Child Health Bureau requires all states to report the percentage of newborns they screen prior to discharge
• 1999
  • Federal Universal Newborn Hearing Screening program established (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD))
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services establishes EHDI goals as part of its objectives for Healthy People 2010 (White, 2015)
  • 57 of 60 birthing facilities participated in newborn hearing screening by the end of the year (Mehl & Thomson, 2002)
  • American Academy of Pediatrics establishes a position statement on newborn and infant hearing loss
• 2000
  • Healthy People 2000 established a goal to reduce the average age at which hearing loss is identified (White, 2015)
  • The 58th and 59th birthing facility participated in newborn hearing screening (Mehl & Thomson, 2002)
  • Congress authorizes EHDI programs
• 2000-2002
  • Colorado is one of 15 states to be awarded CDC grants to assist with developing EHDI tracking and data management systems.
• 2000 – 2004
  • Colorado is one of 22 states to be awarded federal EHDI grants through MCH Grant.
  • Colorado EHDI lead by CU SLHS; Project Director, Vickie Thomson (April 1, 2000 – March 31, 2004)
• 2001
  • CHIP moved under CSDB
  • The 60th and final birthing facility participated in newborn hearing screening (Mehl & Thomson, 2002)
  • By end of year, EHDI programs are clearly established as a part of the public health system in the United States with all 50 states having established an EHDI program (White, 2015)
• 2005 – 2008
  • Federal MCHB grant awarded to Colorado EHDI led by Vickie Thomson under guidance of CIHAC (April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2008)
• 2005
  • Colorado legislature passed an amendment to increase the mandated screening rate from 85% to 95% and to maintain CIHAC.
• 2007
  • The Joint Committee on Infant Hearing was established by a group of professional associations to advocate for earlier identification and better treatment of DHH children (White, 2015)
• 2008
  • U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends screening all newborn infants for hearing loss
• 2009
  • WHO publishes guiding principles related to infant hearing screening (White, 2015)
• 2009 – 2011
  • Federal MCHB grant awarded to Colorado EHDI Awarded to Vickie Thomson, EHDI Coordinator and Emily Fields, EHDI Follow-Up Coordinator, CDPHE, HCP; Janet DesGeorges CO H&V; and Jennie Germano and Dinah Beams, CSDB
• 2011 – 2014
  • Federal MCHB grant awarded to Colorado EHDI HRSA led by Vickie Thomson, PI, Erica McKiever, EHDI Coordinator; Erica Gillenwater, EHDI Follow Up Coordinator: Sara Kennedy and Janet DesGeorges, CO HV; Dinah Beams, CSDB; and Bruce Straw (EHDI IDS Programmer, CDPHE)
• 2016 -2020
  • Federal HRSA grant awarded to University of Colorado at Denver under the direction of Vickie Thomson to lead the state’s EHDI efforts
• 2017
  • EHDI Act (Pl 115-71) is signed into law (S.652) amending the Public Health Service Act to reauthorize EHDI programs until 2022
    • Provides for coordination between HRSA, CDC, and NIH
    • Allows HRSA to continue funding awards to states, territories, and healthcare providers to support continuous improvement of EHDI programs
    • Allows CDC to continue providing funding and direct assistance to states and territories to support the development and use of state data systems as well as collect and report on data from state-level programs
    • Encourages EHDI research programs at NIH through projects supported by NIDCD
  • Hands and Voices receives a 3-year $1.3 million HRSA grant to support the development of Family Leadership in Language and Learning (FL3) to support the EHDI system
• 2020
  • Hands and Voices receives the 3-year FL3 grant again
• 2020 -2024
  • Federal HRSA grant awarded to the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind as well as Early Intervention Colorado
    • Formally establishes the Colorado EHDI Alliance under the direction of Arlene Stredler Brown and Heather Abraham
• 2020
  • CDC awarded funding to the Regents of the University of Colorado to serve as the first of its kind NCBDDD’s Outcomes and Developmental Data Assistance Center for Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (ODDACE)

History of Hearing Screening Equipment

• Warblet
• Crib-O-Gram
• Auditory Response Cradle
• High Risk Registries
• Automated Auditory Brainstem Screening (AABR)
• Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE)
• (Yoshinaga-Itano & Thomson, 2008)