Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California (HSC) celebrated its 100-year anniversary in May, 2017. Situated in downtown San Francisco, the building is home to an extensive range of services created to address communication challenges throughout an individual’s lifespan.
As a non-profit, the HSC has dedicated itself to establishing holistic models of care and adapting those services to meet the unique needs of its clients. Services range from early identification and intervention for infants with hearing loss and speech-language concerns, to school advocacy and support for children, to homework groups, tutoring and peer mentoring for youth, to job readiness and employment placement for adults, to outreach & care for seniors. The staff includes audiologists, speech pathologists, educators and social workers. The care model is designed to be holistic, comprehensive and far-reaching.
Recently the HSC was awarded the #1 spot by Bay Area Consumers’ Checkbook for overall rankings of 50 hearing clinics surveyed in the entire Bay Area. Tracy Peck Holcomb, AuD, Director of Clinical Services at the HSC and past president of the California Academy of Audiology, believes that such an award is reflective of the core values of the agency and how they manifest in the care and treatment of those with hearing loss.
Dr. Holcomb says, “At the HSC we have adamantly resisted the commoditization of hearing health care, in particular the apparent trends in the field to push hearing aids out to the public without support models that take into consideration the situational and unique circumstances every client faces. We are extremely concerned that clients are being convinced that the only solution is for them to purchase high priced hearing aids when often there are less expensive technology options, communication strategies, assistive listening devices as well as auditory training, education and counseling that can either substitute for or complement a hearing aid. Comprehensive and quality hearing healthcare should be available to all individuals with hearing loss, not just those who can afford to pay for premium products.”
Darragh Kennedy, CEO of the HSC and an industry veteran of nearly 25 years adds, “For decades our services have been deeply rooted in our mission, which is to provide lifelong services to support all people with hearing or communication challenges in achieving their goals. However in recent years we have shared the frustrations, suspicions and fatigue of our clients as we have watched our field rush to push expensive technology out to the market without the same push for complementary holistic care. We had to make the very conscious decision as an agency to incorporate advocacy as a distinct element of how we can be of service to the public, both locally and on a larger scale.
Being a non-profit agency enables HSC staff members to be very thoughtful and deliberate in how they provide care. The charitable support HSC receives allows it to move outside the traditional model of audiological care and offer a variety of innovative programs such as tinnitus support groups, health care professional trainings, hearing loss and cochlear implant support groups, college and employment prep classes for individuals with hearing loss. Particular focus is paid to the needs of seniors and HSC also provides care (through Project Homeless Connect) to those in low-income senior residences and is one of only a few providers for clients with Medi-Cal and California Children’s Services (CCS) in the Bay Area. HSC is a host to the California Telephone Access Program – a program that delivers free amplified phones to those with hearing loss (and other disabilities). The majority of these programs take place in the Center’s community lab, which is equipped with an induction loop to give access to sound and improve clarity of speech for clients who have the telecoil feature in their hearing aids.
Through the years, HSC has made a concerted effort to foster and build an extensive network of collaborative partnerships with other community organizations sharing similar core values. These partnerships not only strengthen their ability to provide direct comprehensive services but also help to support their advocacy efforts.
When asked how they manage to stay motivated and committed, both Dr. Peck and Mr. Kennedy respond almost in unison, “We are here to be of service and constantly guided by our mission. Our job is to do what is right for the public so it makes our jobs very distinct and clear. We look forward to continued collaboration with HLAA and its members to ensure that our services remain client-centric, adaptive and comprehensive.”
Hearing and Speech Center of Northern California is at 1224 Divisadero Street, San Francisco CA, 94115, 415-921-7658, www.hearingspeech.org
This article originally appeared in The Hearing Loss Californian, Winter 2017-18.
