New Hearing Booth Dedicated!

The Warren Center for Communication & Learning officially dedicated its second hearing booth in a ceremony for donors, staff and board members on May 17.

Board of Directors president Wayne Woodford gave a toast and thanked those who made the audiology expansion possible. Warren Center administrative director Mary E. Poulin was equally impressed by the dedication of those who helped the Center achieve its goal.

“We have a dedicated staff and board and wonderful donors,” she said. “Their generosity now makes it possible for us to better serve the hearing needs of those in the Bangor area.”

The reception to dedicate the booth was held at the Warren Center and included hors d’ouevres, a champagne toast and the unveiling of a plaque to recognize those who donated to the project. Dr. Kimberly Starkey, one of the center’s audiologists, gave some of the attendees a hearing screening.

The campaign to expand the audiology services, called Be a Hearing Aide, began in 2002. Over $72,000 was raised, which enabled the Center to put up a hearing booth that had been donated, purchase the equipment necessary to perform hearing tests and hire a second audiologist to keep up with the growing demand for the Center’s services.

The Warren Center for Communication & Learning is Bangor’s oldest not-for-profit professional speech and hearing center. The Warren Center provides evaluations, therapies and technologies in the areas of speech, language development and hearing to the children and adults of Eastern and Central Maine.

back to top

Notes from the Administrative Director

As I was signing his work order about 3:30 on a recent afternoon, our computer support engineer looked around our lobby and smiled. “You must be very proud of the work you folks do here,” he said. I stopped to see what he was seeing. There were a number of excited preschoolers, some coming to and some leaving from their speech pathology sessions; a group of young teens arriving for their pragmatic language skills group; and an array of adults… some parents, some speech pathologists, a speech aide, and a couple of audiology clients. For the five minutes of transition it was a busy, and rather loud, place that reflected many of the different ages and needs we serve. And he was right…I am proud!

I’m especially proud of all of our staff this year. Not only did we serve more clients at more sites during this past year then ever before, but we were able to do it without incurring a deficit. The clinical staff worked hard to bring up their productivity, which is not an easy thing to do when there are as many I’s to dot and T’s to cross before you even start seeing a client as there are in healthcare these days. The front office staff worked hard to make sure that referrals were processed quickly and that claims were submitted correctly and on time. Our development staff did an exceptional job in presenting our story and our needs to the community.

I am proud of this Center and the work it has been doing in our community for nearly forty-five years.

back to top

Ask the Audiologists

by Warren Center Audiologists Dr. Amanda Samoluk and Dr. Kim Starkey

How can I tell what size battery I need?

A few years ago, the hearing aid battery industry standardized battery sizes and came up with a color code to help you remember your battery size.

On the back of each battery is a tab that you pull off to “activate” the battery. Each color corresponds to a different size. Now the numbers and colors for each size are all standard. Sometimes you may see other letters after the numbers, but those are arbitrary letters. The most important thing to remember is size and color.
If you can’t remember your size, keep the color in mind. Your audiologist will also have this information in your chart and can look it up for you any time.

How long will the battery last before I have to change it?

That depends on the type of hearing aid you wear. Some hearing aids require more power and therefore will have a shorter life than others. Digital hearing aids require more battery than an analog hearing aid, simply because there are more complicated circuits in a digital hearing aid. Typically, battery life can range anywhere from 5-18 days. If you’re experiencing a shorter battery life, the hearing aid may not be working properly, and should be evaluated.

What happens when I take the tab off the battery?

The most common hearing aid batteries are called “Zinc Air”, which means the battery works by mixing zinc with the outside air. Once the tab has been taken off a battery, that hearing aid battery becomes active and will continue to stay active. The battery cannot be “deactivated” by placing the tab back on the battery. The best advice is to keep the tabs on until you need a new battery. If you have a dead battery, keep them separate from your fresh battery supply. Do not keep them together in the same case, as this could lead to accidentally mixing the batteries. As long as you leave the tab on your batteries, you can expect a shelf-life of approximately three years. However, after three years, the battery may not perform as well.

back to top

Earning their C's

Congratulations to Warren Center speech- language pathologists Katherine Fraser and Rebecca Pelletier This spring, these clinicians received their Certificates of Clinical Competence (or C’s) from the American Speech-Language Hearing Association.

In order to earn their CCC-SLP certification, speech-language pathologists must earn their Master’s degree, complete 375 hours of supervised clinical observation/practice and must pass a national
examination administered by the Educational Testing Service.

back to top

Voices Yard Sale Raises $1400

The rain held off and the crowds swelled at the Fifth Annual Voices to be Heard Yard Sale on May 28. This year’s event raised over $1400 for the Voices program.

Two storage trailers were needed this year to hold all of the donations the Warren Center received in the weeks leading up to the main event. A huge variety of books, furniture, movies, music and even a dog house and fence were available for purchase.

The event wasn’t scheduled to start until 8 a.m., but the early birds showed up at 6 to check out the bargains. At 9 a.m., Rick Andrews from WEZQ-FM 92.9 showed up to help publicize the event and entertain the shoppers and Warren Center staff. The broadcast was sponsored by the Brewer Dunkin’ Donuts and Arby’s Restaurant in Bangor.

Warren Center staffers Amy Bragg, M.A., CCC-SLP, MaryBeth B. Richards, M.S., CCC-SLP and Peter Cook were interviewed on the radio and given a chance to talk about the yard sale and what the Center does. The radio presence had the added benefit of attracting people to the sale who had not yet heard about it.

Amy Bragg, lead clinician for the Voices to be Heard program, was happy with the amount of community and staff support.

“Once again, we had a great time with this event. I really appreciate everyone who donated something to sell and the people who took time to stop by and support the center,” she said. “I especially want to thank the staff. We had nearly one hundred percent participation this year.”

Voices to be Heard teaches the deaf how to listen and speak with the aid of an amplification device such as a hearing aid or cochlear implant. Children and adults who are part of this program are taught by a speech-language pathologist who is specially trained to help the hearing impaired or deaf make the most of their residual hearing or cochlear implant for oral communication. If you have questions about the Voices to be Heard program, contact Amy Bragg at 941-2850 or via email at abragg@warrencenter.org.

back to top

Busy Days at the Center

Click picture for more details.

Good Luck!

Stacey White, M.A., CCC-SLP, left the Center in June for a position at the Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

Paula Sides, the Warren Center’s billing and collections
associate, left in June to work for Downeast Orthopedic
at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

back to top