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Date: 10/3/2023
LONGMEADOW — This October, a new clinical audiologist at the Curtis L. Blake Audiology Center at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf means members of the community with hearing issues will again be able to seek help close to home.
The establishment of the audiology center was made possible by a donation from Curtis Blake. The Sidney Cooley Administration Building underwent a major renovation in 2021 with $1.5 million raised through a capital campaign. The now-accessible audiology center was moved to one level and new state-of-the-art audiological equipment was purchased with grants totaling $200,000 from the MassHealth Provider Access Improvement Program and Health Resources in Action on behalf of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services.
Willie Ross School for the Deaf President & CEO Bert Carter told Reminder Publishing, “We’re very friendly. It’s much more low-key than some of the larger audiology centers.”
The center sees people of all ages for a variety of hearing needs, including testing, hearing aid consultation and fittings and device supplies, adjustments, cleaning and repairs. Families of patients ages 3 and up can make an appointment to be seen at the audiology center, while deaf and hard-of-hearing children as young as newborns can receive home-based early intervention services.
The center now has three audiologists. Dr. Joy Guay is an educational audiologist who treats students at the Willie Ross School for the Deaf. Deb Scanlon is the outreach audiologist, who performs hearing evaluations in schools across Western Massachusetts and parts of Connecticut.
Clinical Audiologist Dr. Kathryn Siu has recently joined the audiology center to evaluate and treat people from the community who come in with hearing difficulties. The center had been without a community audiologist for about one year.
Cochlear implants are not available at the audiology center, as it is a surgical procedure, but the center is in the process of obtaining mapping software, which is used to program implants to each person’s individual needs. Siu, who was recently licensed after earning a doctor of audiology degree from Washington University, completed her externship at the American School for the Deaf, which provided experience in mapping cochlear implants.
“My experience working at the American School for the Deaf affirmed my passion to serve deaf and hard of hearing populations,” Siu said in a press release. “I value the importance of treating the whole person and meeting the families where they are in their journey with hearing loss. I am motivated to serve the special needs population and to alleviate hearing healthcare disparities that exist within our communities.”
The Sidney Cooley Administration Building, 32 Norway St., and can be reached at 413-567-0374 for voice calls or 413-798-4221 for videophone. For more information, visit wrsdeaf.org.