HRSA grants to implement new universal newborn hearing screening programs have just been awarded to 14 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.  The FY 2001 grants total more than $2.83 million; individual grants are between $125,000 and $200,000.

The UNHS program supports hospitals and birthing facilities in choosing screening equipment, training newborn hearing professionals, managing data, and educating physicians, parents and hospital staff.

“Newborn hearing screening detects hearing loss in time to prevent delays in infants’ language development,” says HRSA Associate Administrator for Maternal and Child Health Peter C. van Dyck, M.D., M.P.H.  “New technology helps us screen more effectively and detect more subtle hearing loss.”

Newborn screening programs underscore the importance of early diagnosis and treatment by pediatric health professionals, who urge that hearing diagnoses be made by the time an infant is 3 months of age.  Although hundreds of hospitals operate hearing screening programs, just half of all newborns today are screened for hearing loss before being discharged. 

The UNHS program is administered by the Division of Services for Children with Special Health Needs in HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau.  For more information on MCHB programs, visit the bureau’s Web site at www.mchb.hrsa.gov.

The list of grantees and grant amounts follows:

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