HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 2009

Montco Chapter Officers:

President:DonnaPenman,phone:610-292-9003or610-279-0905;Emailaddress:pen447@verizon.netorpenguin2@tmail.com

Treasurer:KathyHarral Secretary:LauraSkwirutAssistiveTechnology:DonGroff

Newslettercommittee:DianaBender,email:bender@hla-pa.org,andDonGroff

Meetings:1^stWednesdayofeachMonth,exceptJulyandAugust:Jeanes’ Library,4051JoshuaRoad,LafayetteHill,PA,7:00 – 9:00p.m.

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2009 HLA-PA Award Brunch, Sunday, Nov. 22

Don’tforgettoputSunday,November22onyourcalendar,whenHLA-PAwillholdour5^thannualHLA-PAbrunchattheConshohockenMarriott..Inadditiontothepresentationofthe2009MarciaFinisdoreAwardforAdvocacy,HamiltonRelaywillbeonhandtodemonstratethenewestCapTeltelephone.Thisphonehasalargerscreenandyoucanadjustthecolorofthetextandbackground,aswellasthesizeofthetextforeasierreading.

News from our National Office

HLAA signed on to a letter to New York Times Magazine Editor Gerald Marzorati along with more than 40 other disability organizations denouncing a July 15 article by ethicist Peter Singer. Singer’s article argued for rationing health care by denying treatments to people with disabilities based on the assumption that our lives have less value than the lives of non-disabled people.

The coalition has requested the following of The New York Times Magazine:

1. The NY Times staff needs to define and clarify its understanding of disability as a basic human rights issue.

2. If the current stance of the NY Times is that the lives of people with disabilities are, in fact, a drain on health care sources, it should be stated on record.

3. Discuss training in the basics of covering disability in news stories – beyond the “human interest” and “medical” angles.

4. Cover the difference between “analysis” and “appealing to bigotry” in public policy discussions.

Walk4Hearing: September 26, 2009

The numbers concerning hearing loss are staggering. Thirty-six million Americans have some level of hearing loss – a health condition that’s topped only by heart disease and arthritis, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

 

Aspartofanongoingnationaleffortto “stepup” aidtothegrowingpopulationofpeopleintheUnitedStateswithhearingloss,theHearingLossAssociationofPennsylvania(HLA-PA),thestateofficeofHearingLossAssociationofAmerica(HLAA),willsponsorthePennsylvaniaWALK4HEARINGevent,atRidleyCreekStatePark,inNewtownSquare,PA,startingat9a.m.onSaturday,Sept.26,2009.

 

TheWALK4HEARINGisaseriesofwalksalloverAmericaintendedtocreatepublicawarenessaboutthehighprevalenceofhearingloss.Itspurposeistohavehearinglossrecognizedasapublichealthissue,toeliminatetheembarrassmentandstigmathatpreventpeoplefromseekinghelpinadjustingtohearingloss,andtoencouragetheuseoftechnologyandstrategiesthatenablethemtohearbetterandcommunicateeffectively.Thefundsraisedareusedtopromotecaptioning,accessiblemainstreamproductsandservices,scholarships,insurancecoverage,employmentandeducationrights,andnationalandlocalservicesforpeoplewithhearingloss.Wewelcomeallwhowishtojoinusinthewalktofocusattentionnationwideonhearingloss:prevention,regularscreening,treatmentoptions,andhowtolivewithitsuccessfully.

 

Teams participatinginthisyear’sPennsylvaniaWALK4HEARINGwillcomefromalloverthestate.WalkerswillmeetatPavilion#11BinRidleyCreekStatePark(onRoute3justwestofNewtownSquare,PA)andhavetheoptionofwalkingeither5K(3.1miles)or7K(4.3miles).Pre-walkactivitieswillincludegamesforchildren,clownsandfacepainters;CART(real-timecaptioning)andAmericanSignLanguageinterpreterswillmakethelocalpeptalkaccessibleforall.Refreshmentswillbeavailablebefore,duringandafterthewalk.TobeaWALK4HEARINGparticipantoraneventsponsor,pleasecontactHLA-PAStateDirectorDianaBenderbyemailatBender@hla-pa.org,byphoneat610-731-9387orbyloggingontowww.WALK4HEARING.ORG.

Joke of the Month

Morris, an 82-year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical.

A few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm.

A couple of days later, the doctor spoke to Morris and said, “You’re really doing great, aren’t you?”

Morris replied, “Just doing what you said, Doctor, ‘Get a hot mamma and be cheerful.'”

The doctor said, “I didn’t say that. I said you got a heart murmur and be careful.”

Next Meeting: Montco needs a New Meeting Place!!

DonnahasbeennotifiedthattheJeanesLibrarywillbeclosingforextensiverenovationsaftertheendoftheyear.Thismeansthatwewillhavetomovefromourwonderfulmeetingroomatthelibrary.

Please join us on

Wednesday,

September 2, 2009,

 

downstairs in the Jeanes’ Library.

Socializing starting at 7 pm, with the business meeting starting at 7:30. We need everyone’s input as we discuss possible new locations and whether to change the date of our monthly meetings. This is your chapter and we need your input.