Stephanie and Patricia are both pursuing Doctorates of Audiology at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. Patricia was initially interested in speech pathology but found the audiology courses and materials more interesting and decided to pursue it as her career path. Stephanie had a similar experience, and her initial interest stems from growing up with family and friends that utilized speech pathology services.
Both were drawn to the Pittsburgh Schweitzer Fellows Program (PSFP) after hearing from past PSFP Fellows about the HEAR-UP project. HEAR-UP, which stands for Hearing Education And Resources for Underserved Populations, is now in its 6th year. Stephanie and Patricia are excited to continue the important work, while further developing and expanding the project.
Stephanie and Patricia are ensuring the continuation of services at Birmingham Free Clinic and the Squirrel Hill Health Center. Most recently, they’ve also begun expansion efforts with Catholic Charities of Pittsburgh. Services include hearing aid evaluations and fittings, follow-up appointment services, and providing educational resources. They are also increasing accessibility by offering more language options for counseling services.
Through HEAR-UP, Stephanie and Patricia hope to help generally underserved populations, including refugees, immigrants, and low-income individuals. They are increasing the accessibility of audiological services by creating content that can be provided to individuals both in and out of clinical settings.
Time is extremely limited due to the high demand for services, so asynchronous learning allows for optimal use of appointment times while also ensuring no information is left out. Furthermore, providing this content in multiple languages provides a more personalized and effective experience for as many patients as possible. The importance of providing resources in multiple languages is vast, as the “majority of [the] patient population consists of Spanish-speaking immigrants and Nepalese immigrants and refugees”.
Patricia and Stephanie are anticipating some problems due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, as in person visits are still not always a guarantee and clinics have had a hard time staying open. This only emphasizes the importance of asynchronous resources, but access to these can also be an issue for patients due to internet access and time requirements.
Both Fellows grew up in households where service work and hard work, in general, were encouraged. Stephanie grew up in a scouting family and was active in volunteering in service work from a young age. She made sure to continue her service work through college and graduate school. Her first placement was at the UPMC Center for Assistive Technology (CAT), and it instilled an understanding of the importance of accessibility to hearing aids and general services. Patricia grew up in a Latino household where she was expected to help from the time she was little. She completed hundreds of hours of service work throughout high school and undergrad and wants to get more involved with student organizations. She is extremely passionate about and excited to provide clinical services in Spanish. This project finally gives her the opportunity to put that skill to use.
Stephanie and Patricia hope to empower patients to be able to complete tasks like reading audiograms, explaining their hearing loss, and maintaining their hearing aids through the HEAR-UP project. By working with the clinics, they are improving the patient process, and they are ensuring an effective and efficient experience for individuals in need.