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Mile Bluff audiology patient featured during Children’s Miracle Network telethon By Amanda Emery
At the time of Mackenzie’s diagnosis, Wisconsin laws did not mandate that most private health insurance companies pay for a child’s hearing aids (these laws have since been changed in Wisconsin and many other states). As a result, her parents were left with not only a difficult emotional situation to deal with, but a trying financial one as well. However, once again, Ann Raabe and her staff in the Audiology Department at Mile Bluff Medical Center came to the rescue. Ann explains, “I cannot take all of the credit for securing the financial assistance for the family. This was a group effort; Rusty and Stephanie [Mackenzie’s father and mother] have been just great during the entire process. They both had a very proactive, motivated and positive attitude. I’m not saying there weren’t tears shed - but these parents went into high gear, becoming strong advocates for their daughter. This made finding financial resources for them all that much easier.” Ann continued, “We also could not have done it all without the assistance of Laura Vinopal [audiologist] and our front office staff members, Terri Walling and Jennifer Dodge.” One of the organizations Mackenzie applied for financial assistance through - and received aid from - was the Children’s Miracle Network. This June, she was chosen to be featured on a segment during the organization’s fundraising telethon. In this feature, camera crews from a LaCrosse television station came to Mile Bluff to interview Ann Raabe, Mackenzie and her family. It truly was a testament to the generosity of the organization that helped Mackenzie receive the necessary funding she and her family needed to purchase her hearing aids. Ann also assisted the Shankles in securing funding from one other organization, the Job’s Daughters Hearing Impairment Kids Endowment Fund. These programs helped the family with financial aid in some form, making it possible for Mackenzie to receive the hearing aids that have proved to be crucial to her development. Stephanie Shankle says, “Shortly after being diagnosed with hearing loss, we purchased Mackenzie’s first hearing aids. Since having them, she has gone from a two-year delay in her language, to now being at an age-appropriate level.” Ann continues to praise her improvements, “The hearing aids have helped Mackenzie receive the information that normal-hearing kids would get automatically. After going to speech and language therapy with Colleen Quinn [Mile Bluff’s Speech Pathologist], and getting help with her language development, Mackenzie is currently on-track with other kids her age. The only thing that is different for her in school, is the special microphone the teacher wears to send her voice directly to Mackenzie’s hearing aids.” Ann says that any child who meets the financial requirements, would be eligible for assistance like that received by Mackenzie and her family. “It is so important for parents to understand that there are programs out there to help them financially. In Mackenzie’s case, without the hearing aids, most sounds that are audible to us wouldn’t even come across as a whisper due to the amount of hearing loss she has. Now she is on-track and doing well, thanks in part to the organizations that provided financial assistance to the family.” If you feel your child - or any family member - could benefit from being assessed by an audiologist at Mile Bluff, call 608-847-1414 to make an appointment for a consultation today.
Photo Caption: Mile Bluff’s Director of Audiology, Ann Raabe, looks on as her patient Mackenzie shows her hearing aids to the camera while she is filmed for a segment on the Children’s Miracle Network telethon that aired in June. |
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Mile Bluff Medical Center/ 1050 Division St./ Mauston, WI 53948 / 608 847 6161 Mile Bluff Medical Center, 1050 Division Street, Mauston, WI 53948 608 847 6161 or Toll free in WI at 800 252 4377 © 2008 Mile Bluff Medical Center |
In the summer of 2006, the
Shankle family was in the middle of moving from the Green Bay area to Kendall,
when they received some alarming news; two-year-old Mackenzie had been diagnosed
with moderate to severe hearing loss in both ears. Upon their arrival in
Kendall, the Shankles immediately made an appointment to have their daughter
treated by Mile Bluff Medical Center’s Director of Audiology, Ann Raabe.
According to Ann, the quick response by the Shankles was important, “Children
learn speech and language by listening to what’s going on around them. When
hearing loss takes this from a child, every moment is precious to his/her
development. It’s hard for children to learn speech and language, and to
understand what’s going on around them when they don’t hear it. That’s why on
just her first visit, we began the process of getting Mackenzie fitted for
hearing aids.”