As of May 1, the 18 Saskatchewan hospitals that regularly deliver babies will be implementing a newborn hearing screening as part of a physical examination.
The screening program has used $523,000 of government funding to provide hospitals with equipment and staff to administer the screenings. Moose Jaw's Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital will be one of the hospitals to offer the program.
The screening occurs before the newborn is discharged from the hospital; the test is noninvasive, and not harmful to the child. A sound is emitted into the newborn's ear and a machine registers whether the newborn heard the sound.
If the first test fails, a second test is administered. If either test is failed, the baby is referred on to an audiologist for more detailed testing.
Dawn Skalicky-Souliere, director of licensing with the community care branch at the Ministry of Health, expressed the importance of the program.
“We expanded this program is because we really understand that early detection, diagnosis, and intervention of hearing loss improves language and literacy skills of children,” said Skalicky-Souliere.
“It's the hope that, of course, we'll catch more hearing issues young at a younger age,” she added. “I think every parent wants their child to develop their language and literacy skills in the best way possible.”
More information about the Newborn Hearing Screening program is available on the Saskatchewan government’s website.
