I would appreciate your including this letter in the Journal for the information of the membership. Additional copies of these reports are available at the Legislative Council Staff offices, One East Main, Suite 401, or from our web page at
http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lc.
Sincerely,
Terry C. Anderson
Joint Legislative Council
Director
__________________
August 5, 2009
Patrick Fuller
Assembly Chief Clerk
17 West Main Street, Suite 401
Madison, WI 53703
Dear Chief Clerk Fuller:
Please add my name as a co-author of Assembly Bill 299, relating to products containing mercury and granting rule-making authority.
Sincerely,
Louis Molepske, JR.
State Representative
71st Assembly District
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Referral of Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health Services
Madison
August 5, 2009
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
The Department of Health Services is pleased to submit to you, as required by s.
253.115 of the Wisconsin Statutes, the annual report on the status of Universal Newborn Hearing Screening (UNHS) in Wisconsin. I am especially pleased to report that in 2008, all of the State's birthing hospitals had implemented a hearing screening program.
In 2008, 98 percent of babies born in Wisconsin were born in a facility that offers UNHS and 2 percent were born at home. Currently 96 percent of babies are screened prior to hospital discharge, with a 0.2 percent rate of refusal. The statewide average rate of infants who did not pass the inpatient hearing screen in 2008 was 2.1 percent, which falls within the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of less than 4 percent.
The Department's early hearing detection and intervention program, Wisconsin Sound Beginnings (WSB), continues to provide support to screening and diagnostic organizations and to the county Birth to 3 programs, working with identified infants with hearing loss and their families. With federal funds, WSB has implemented an early hearing loss data collection and tracking system in 94 birthing units, 18 neo-natal intensive care units, and 61 audiology clinics. WSB also has developed a parent-to-parent support system which has received national attention, called the Guide By Your Side program. The program provides services for families of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, including those who are Spanish-and Hmong-speaking only.
Hearing loss is the most common congenital birth defect, affecting an estimated 200 Wisconsin infants annually. Undetected hearing loss impedes speech, language, and cognitive and social development. The Department is dedicated to helping children and families cope with the effect of hearing loss through its early detection and intervention programs, so that all Wisconsin children can have a sound beginning.
Sincerely,
Karen E. Timberlake
Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Families.
