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10/24/2016  |   1:45 PM - 2:45 PM   |  BGPOP Building 402/403/404

Collaboration and Partnership within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands EHDI Program

This presentation describes how the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands implemented and sustains Early Hearing Detection & Intervention (EHDI) program through agency collaboration, partnerships and parent and professional relationships. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands has one hospital, the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, located on the island of Saipan. Health centers provide health care services on the neighboring islands of Rota and Tinian. Given the remote location in the Pacific, it is crucial for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands EHDI program to work closely with other agencies and programs to successfully identify infants with hearing loss, provide quality early intervention, and provide parent support. Who would think that on an island 12 mi (19 km) long and 5.6 mi (9.0 km) wide, a program would be challenged to reduce loss to follow up and that families wouldn’t naturally know other families who have children with hearing loss. Other unique challenges include transportation, English as a second language, as well as the rapidly increasing number of tourist births. The presentation focuses on successes in overcoming challenges in meeting the needs of infants and children with hearing loss and family support on an island with limited resources.

• Understand the challenges encountered in implementing an EHDI program in a remote location with limited resources.
• Describe what can be accomplished when you have dedicated and passionate people working together.
• Describe parent and professional support activities / events that have brought families together.

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Angie Mister (POC,Primary Presenter), CNMI Public School System , angie.mister@gmail.com;
Angie Mister, Au.D CCC-A has been an audiologist with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Public School System for 21 years. Her position includes the coordination of audiological screenings, comprehensive hearing evaluations, fitting and management of hearing aids as well as providing support services to students with hearing loss birth-to- twenty-one. Dr. Mister assists educational teams in program placement decisions and participates in multidisciplinary team meetings. She counsels families, students and school personnel about the effects of hearing loss, both within and outside the classroom environment. In addition to this work, Dr. Mister has been instrumental in the coordination of the CNMI Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) Program. She is the Pacific (Region IXa) Network Consultant and Quality Improvement Advisor under the National Center for Hearing Assessment and Management (NCHAM).

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.

Margarita Torres-Aldan (Co-Presenter), CNMI Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation , margarita.aldan@dph.gov.mp;
Margarita Torres Aldan has an MPH in Health Administration and Planning and is the Director of Division of Public Health Services, Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, Saipan, MP. Margarita is responsible for carrying out functions and management of the Division of Public Health Services under the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, which includes all the federally funded prevention programs such as the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program. She is actively involved with local, national, international preventive and wellness organizations on various public health activities coordinated by agencies such as World Health Organization (WHO); Department of Health and Human Services; and Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), Ayuda Network, Inc, Council on Developmental Disabilities, etc. She has been instrumental in writing grants and implementing programs/activities to ensure continuity of services/programs for women, infants, children, including children with special health care needs, and adolescents.

ASHA DISCLOSURE: Financial - Nonfinancial -

AAA DISCLOSURE: Financial - No relevant financial relationship exists.