Not forgotten

Dear sir:
I am writing in response to Dianne Griffiths’ letter published in the Wednesday, Oct. 10 edition of the Fort Frances Times, in which she outlines her concerns regarding the limited availability of hearing health care in the district.
Ms. Griffiths states that as a result of the closure of the Fort Frances Canadian Hearing Society office, the community no longer has access to hearing health care.
As a regulated health care professional who has been working as an audiologist in the Kenora and Rainy River districts for the past 10 years, I can assure Ms. Griffiths that Northwestern Ontarians requiring hearing health care have not been left behind.
The preservation of hearing health care services in our district is not at stake, with my commitment to continue with the provision of quality hearing care into the future.
At The Ear Clinic in Fort Frances, we provide audiological services on a full-time basis and in Atikokan, Rainy River, and Dryden on an itinerant basis.
Our services are patient-centered and comprehensive, and include diagnostic audiological evaluation, prescription of hearing aids and communication devices, dispensing of hearing aids and communication devices, hearing aid programming, repairs and cleaning, home visits, hearing health care counselling, and consultation with educators and employers.
The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care delisted audiology services in 2001, forcing many audiologists in our province into private practice settings, as is the case with many regulated health professionals.
Citing funding deficits, the Northwestern Health Unit recently chose to enter the business of hearing aid dispensing to adults in direct competition with already-established hearing care providers, falling short of its responsibility to “. . . provide leadership in identifying issues and . . . integrating them with other services in the community, and advocating for those which fall outside their mandate.”
This non-mandated business undertaken by the Northwestern Health Unit was established using publicly-funded tax dollars intended for hearing care programming for children as its base—jeopardizing the viability of current hearing care practices in the community.
Undoubtedly, it is unfortunate that Canadian Hearing Society closed locally as a result.
I can assure you that it is the full intent of the hearing care team at The Ear Clinic to continue providing accessibility and excellence in comprehensive hearing care in our district.
Individuals requiring hearing health care have not been forgotten.
Sincerely,
Brenda Tullio
Fort Frances, Ont.