Mission: Not So Impossible

The Student Academy of Audiology (SAA) encourages us, developing audiologists, to seek out opportunities to educate and help those with hearing loss. The University of Minnesota–Twin Cities SAA Chapter, found a second home outside our campus in the Phillips Neighborhood – more specifically, in the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic (PNC) – to fulfill that mission. PNC is a completely student-run free clinic precepted by licensed professionals of the healthcare community. The clinic is home to fifteen other health care professions with approximately 400 student volunteers. A few disciplines involved include: medical, dental, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, social work, law, and best of all … AUDIOLOGY. 

PNC promotes equal access to healthcare to optimize the quality of care given to patients regardless of age, citizenship, insurance status, or economic status. Audiological services were added to PNC to identify hearing loss and to provide intervention to those unable to afford services. Students obtaining their Doctorate of Audiology in the Department of Speech-Language-Hearing Sciences created a system at PNC to provide diagnostic services, counseling, and, if the patient is deemed qualified, appropriate amplification devices. 

The PNC audiology program started in 2017. We were fortunate to be awarded a HEAR grant from SAA, which was a tremendous help in the start-up of our clinic. We received new hearing aids from manufacturers as donations. As a team, we provide monthly services including otoscopy, tympanometry, air conduction, bone conduction, earmold impressions, cerumen management, and hearing aid checks. If the patient qualifies for hearing aids, we invite them to our on-campus clinic where we perform word recognition testing, counseling, hearing aid orientation, verification, and validation measurements. 

The efforts of our audiology clinic were invited to present at the Society of Student-Run Free Clinics Conference in March. I attended and presented at the conference, making the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities PNC the ONLY audiology clinic out of 34 states, 3 countries,135 clinics, and 500 attendees represented. Futuristically thinking, what if students brought the clinic to the community, instead of the community going to the clinic? Audiology allows for growth, and I want to encourage and share our passion of outreach and inspire this growth. If this article intrigues you, please reach out and ask any questions, I would be happy to answer them. The vision and mission is possible!

Danni Barr is a third-year audiology student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Her audiology interests are currently pediatrics and non-profit. Danni has been a volunteer for three years with the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic (PNC), the Audiology Student Coordinator for PNC for two years, and is the newly elected Performance Co-Chair for PNC.