"This

is important news for Georgia's children," said Georgia's First Lady,

Marie Barnes, who spearheaded the creation of the State Advisory Committee

on Newborn Hearing Screening. "When hearing loss is identified at

birth, the child's family and physician can find alternate ways to make

sure the child develops language and other skills. This is most effective

in the first few years of the child's life, because that's when 90 percent

of all brain development occurs."

The Division

of Public Health purchased the state-of-the-art screening equipment with

part of the state's tobacco lawsuit settlement funds and a grant from

the Appalachian Regional Commission.

"This

program is an important partnership between public health and private

physicians and hospitals in Georgia," said Kathleen E. Toomey, director

of the Division of Public Health. "By working together we can help

families make sure their children are healthy and reach their full potential."

The 1999 legislation

also established a State Advisory Committee on Newborn Hearing Screening

to monitor the state's progress, and required hospitals and physicians

to report to Public Health the number of infants screened.

For more information

about newborn hearing screening in Georgia, contact Leslee Pool, coordinator

of the program, at 404-463-2192 or see https://health.state.ga.us/programs/unhs .

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