Katy Leskowat and Erin Casey are navigating the intersection of disability, language, and socioeconomic status in their work. Their project, Hearing, Education, and Resources for Underserved Populations (HEAR-UP), is a community service program that is currently in its 4th year. Recognizing the importance of communication in the implementation of healthcare, Katy and Erin are working with translators and community leaders to help those suffering from hearing loss who are typically non-English speakers – specifically the Nepali community. This underserved community often cannot access healthcare due to language and cost barriers.
Katy and Erin both grew up in small, community-oriented towns, and they feel a similar affection towards the city of Pittsburgh. Through shared classes and an aptitude for the clinical side of healthcare, Katy and Erin discovered their mutual interest in the HEAR-UP project, which tapped into their undergraduate majors of speech language pathology and communication sciences and disorders. During the course of the project, Katy and Erin hope to assist their patients from the beginning of the process – outreach, hearing assessments, and relationship-building, to the end stage of hearing aid fittings and follow-up care. Not only are they excited to learn about Nepali culture through their liaison and interpreter, Luv Biswa, they feel a personal connection to the community for its enthusiasm for the program. “When we were shadowing Leila and Hannah [2019-20 Fellows], one patient jumped up and gave me a hug,” Erin recounts, “She hugged everyone in the room. The community is so grateful and excited to work with us.”
Katy and Erin seek to enhance the program’s outreach by translating HEAR-UP’s instructional material into multiple languages, creating audio-visual guides for patients with limited literacy, and providing in-depth education and follow up appointments to help the project reach its full potential. “Luv told us about his community, their needs, and that a large percentage of them do not read Nepali,” Erin stated, citing the importance of tailoring care to the needs of the patient. They are also looking forward to learning more about Nepali culture so that they can make their patients comfortable throughout the clinical process. “We have to be mindful of cultural context,” Katy stated. “For example, if they want a family member in the room with them, we want to accommodate them.” Erin added, “We’re doing a lot of behind-the-scenes work to stay culturally informed.” Katy and Erin’s ability to implement care has been delayed by Covid-19, but they are using this time to create supplementary educational materials for their patients until they can begin to conduct in-person sessions.
On her desire to serve, Erin said, “It’s a way to get involved with areas of the community that I otherwise wouldn’t have access to.” Likewise, Katy is looking forward to connecting with her patients. “From a young age, I was taught the importance of investing in your community,” she said. “Comradery, friendship, and new perspectives can be found through acts of service.”
