QUOTA CLUB MAKES DONATION FOR INFANT HEARING SCREENER

OB Nurse, Danielle Leibfried, RN, shows the new infant hearing screener to members of the Quota Club.

The Platteville Quota Club demonstrated once again their dedication to children’s hearing by making another recent donation toward the newly purchased ALGO machine. The ALGO machine is used to identify infant hearing loss in babies soon after birth. This new machine replaces an older model, which the Quota Club also helped purchase.

Danielle Leibfried, OB Nurse, explained, “It would take up to one hour to perform the test with the old machine. Since we have a new machine, we can do it in a matter of minutes. It saves time, and the equipment is a newer, more advanced model.”

It is crucial to check infants’ hearing because early detection of hearing problems can prevent future problems with language development. Between two and ten percent of babies in the United States do not pass their initial hearing screen. There are many reasons for this, including wax build up in the ear canal, fluid in the middle ear, and movement during the test. It is mandatory that all babies have their hearing tested before leaving the hospital, and if a baby is born at home, they should have their hearing checked at the hospital before they are one month old.

Doctors at Southwest Health deliver about 200 babies each year, so this new machine will touch many young lives.