Warren Center
preparing
for yard sale - May 22, 2004!
Everyone around here looks forward to May. Not just because
it's the downhill slope to warm and pleasant weather but also
because May is National Better Speech and Hearing Month! Not
only that, it's also the time of our ANNUAL YARD SALE to benefit
the Voices to be Heard auditory/oral program!
This year's yard
sale will take place on Saturday, May 22 from 8 a.m. to 2
p.m. For those of you thinking, “hey,
it's usually not that late in the month” you are
totally right! We're hoping to avoid the leftover April
showers that
have plagued us in every other year, and the accompanying
winds that keep threatening to blow over the tent! The
other big
change is that this year we will start accepting donations
for the yard sale earlier. In the past we didn't have anyplace
to put things but this year we have a donated space for
items, right at the Center, so if you have goods you would
like to
donate please call the office to schedule a drop-off appointment.
Smaller items may be brought to the Center during business
hours. Appointments for larger item drop-offs will be Saturday
mornings from 8 a.m. to noon, up to the weekend of the
event itself. Please call the Center at 941-2850 to make
an appointment.
We hope that by being able to store items it will give those
who are interested in donating a better opportunity to do so
and we look forward to hearing from you as you do your spring
cleaning! The Voices to be Heard yard sale is the largest fundraiser
for our auditory/oral program. This year's funds will help
purchase some much-needed equipment for the audiology department
and new therapy materials for speech therapy.
Be
a Hearing Aide Update
The Warren Center received a $10,000 gift from
the Bangor Publishing Company for the Be A Hearing Aide campaign
to expand the audiology department!
So far, we have raised approximately $26,700.
However, we still have a long way to go to reach the nearly
$80,000 we need to complete the expansion! If you have not
yet considered a gift, please do. We would like to thank the following
people, businesses and organizations for their gifts to
the Warren Center Be A Hearing Aide fund to expand the audiology
department!
Ask
The Audiologists
by Warren Center Audiologists Dr. Amanda Samoluk and Kim Starkey
My daughter is nine months old. She used
to jabber and make sounds. For the past month, she has not
been vocalizing. Should I have her hearing tested?
Yes, by nine months, children should be responding to
their own names, imitating speech by making sounds like
coughing, clicking of the
tongue, and babbling. They should respond to common words like “no” and “bye-bye”.
Other evaluations (i.e. speech) may also be advised. If there
is a problem with a child's hearing or speech, early intervention
is
the best intervention! Hearing and speech ability in children
are very important - they may in. uence a child's ability to
socialize,
learn and even read!
How long do hearing aids typically last?
Depending on how well the aids are cared for, and how often they
are worn, the average life span of hearing aids is approximately
five to seven years. Even if hearing aids appear to be working
well, your hearing and the shape of your ears could continue to
change over time. If you notice changes in the way your hearing
aids are working for you, you should talk to your audiologist about
the issue you're having. He or she may advise a hearing exam, or
the issue may be a mechanical problem in the aid itself, such as
a broken microphone. The Warren Center does hearing aid repairs,
even for aids which were not purchased at the Center.
When
I take my hearing aids off at night, I am afraid that I
won't hear the fire alarm or someone at the door. What can
I do?
There are many options! Assistive listening devices are available
for . re alarms and other alerting needs. These devices could flash
lights, vibrate, or amplify the signal to alert hearing impaired
people of a variety of situations. They can be used for telephone
rings, baby cries, fire alarms, door bells, etc. If you have trouble
locating a store which sells what you're looking for, ask your audiologist
or doctor for help. He or she should be able to help you find a product
that will suit your needs.
A
Note from the Administrative Director
Mary E. Poulin
With all of the news around budget changes and cuts in Augusta,
I thought I might discuss how state MaineCare reimbursement
affects the Center.
Speech and hearing
services have traditionally been among those most poorly
reimbursed by MaineCare – occupational
therapy, physical therapy and ambulance services are others
in that category. The last major reimbursement adjustment
we received was in 1991. With a lot of hard work by our clients,
staff and friends in the legislature, we were able to get
a
small increase in 2001. However, since 1991, our costs
per hour have doubled.
By law, our clinicians
have Master’s degrees. Clinicians
at our center are paid far below the national average and
significantly below the Maine average for their profession.
All of our staff
members are dedicated professionals who care first about
our clients. The work we do benefits local communities and
the
state in many ways. For example, we make sure that preschoolers
are ready to learn in kindergarten, thereby saving towns
and school districts many dollars in special costs for resources
that children would need otherwise.
We serve a large population of children on MaineCare. MaineCare
pays us approximately 60% of our billed rate, which equates
to about 85% of what it actually costs to provide the service.
Child Development Services also reimburse us at MaineCare rates.
Without our donors, we could not have served the over 1,100
clients we have served over the last 18 months for whom we
were reimbursed at these low rates.
A very large thank you is due to all of you who
make it possible for us to continue making this kind of difference
in our communities.
Volunteer
at Warren Center
Another Way to Help Out!
When we think of
volunteering, we often think of those scheduled kinds of
things – reading for an hour every Monday, or
working at a soup kitchen each week. At Warren Center,
we have lots of volunteering opportunities but most of them
are not
quite as traditional as the once-a-week visit.
Some things can
be done at home – we can always use
volunteers to help us make therapy materials – that’s
usually cutting, coloring and gluing objects for a speech aide
to later laminate – or scrapbookers to help us present
photos of events. We also sometimes have events we could use
help with, like tagging items for the yard sale. And occasionally
we have more physical needs – someone who is a good woodworker
to make small chairs that let our little ones’ feet touch
the floor and tables that aren’t too high for them.
Right now we even need a group or business who knows about
paving
to give our parking lot some TLC and repaint the parking lines.
There’s usually
something for any interest and talent. Just send an e-mail
to us at prmanager@warrencenter.org,
call the office about volunteering, or check the web site Volunteer
Solutions run by the United Way of Eastern Maine to
guide yourself to our opportunities. And thank you – whether
you volunteer with us or elsewhere – our community
needs people just like you.
Thank
You Channel 7
ABC 7 aired a very nice story package about our Memory Disorders
class a few days before it began in March. We really appreciated
the professional crew who came with camera and microphone to
interview SLP Jen Fiske about our class. THANK YOU for helping
to bring awareness of our programs to the community.
Did you know that some children’s toys are loud or louder than
city traffic? It’s true! City traffic averages 85 decibels – toys
that make noise are often as loud as 95 decibels. To protect your
child’s hearing, you can place tape over the speaker portion
of the toy or simply remove the batteries. It will save their
hearing and could help save your sanity as well. Children who
have unknown
hearing problems often have a tougher time communicating than
their peers, so help prevent hearing loss early by paying attention
to
toys!
SHHH!! It’s
a secret! A secret pal, that is!
The Warren Center
staff has started its second year of secret pals! In an effort
to keep everyone’s morale high and
attitude in cheer, each staffer who wished to participate pulled
the name of another staffer from an envelope and on the first
week of each month, they find a surprise from their secret
pal. The staff also has a pot-luck lunch that week keeping
everyone in touch in a fun way. It’s workplace wellness
at its most fun!
New Staff
Jennifer Fiske, M.S., CCC-SLP
Jennifer is the newest member of our clinical family. She holds an
M.S. in Speech Pathology from East Stroudsburg University in
East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. A Mainer originally, she’s returned
to live in Hampden, where she, her husband and their toddler
have been for the past year.
Jen teachers our Coping with Memory Disorders through Communication
class and works with many of our adult clients. She came to
us with a wonderful background working with elders and we are
overjoyed to have her bright smile around!
Paula Sides
Billing and Collections Associate
Paula’s been here long enough to decorate her office with wonderful
silk foliage and pictures of her family, David Richard Wilson and
their 5-year-old daughter Olivia. They live in Bangor, where Paula
enjoys hobbies like gardening and scrapbooking. Paula brings great
experience in billing and insurance – 9 years experience in
billing from a hospital and 4.5 years at home, health and hospice
and is a certified tax consultant. We’re really glad she
could join us!
Good
Luck Cheryl and Patty!
We said goodbye to administration team members
Cheryl Hewes and Patty Irish this winter. We will miss having
them around and wish them both the best of luck!
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