Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community Review Winter 2005 volume 2, Number 1 Washington State Department of Social and Health Services Message from the Director Human Resources is a core component of ODHH’s capacity to fulfill its mission. Human resource management is not just about recruitment, hiring, training and supervising. It is about recognizing and tapping into each individual staff’s level of knowledge, skills and abilities. Individually and collectively, in small and big ways, they all make a contribution that has a statewide impact, coming from such a small office with only 13 positions. And what an impact ODHH staff makes! Overall, I’m impressed with caliber and dedication they have given in the execution of their duties. There is a unique passion within each individual all sharing the same story, a desire to make a difference in the world of deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind and speech-impaired individuals. For these reasons, I’m dedicating this issue of the newsletter to the staff of ODHH. They are truly the pillars in the administration of ODHH programs and services. Hence, I’d like to give a warm introduction to two new members of the ODHH team, Rena Patch and Lindsey Trimble. By the time we send out our next newsletter, we will have hired the new Information & Referral Program Manager. At this time, we’ll be conducting interviews from an excellent pool of highly qualified candidates, all of whom are deaf or hard of hearing. This is the first time as Director that I have ever seen such a pool of candidates. I anticipate it’ll be a difficult decision to appoint a candidate, but one of those rare problems I don’t mind having. This edition of the newsletter will share what some of our staff have been doing for you. So, the next time you meet one of my staff, a small expression of appreciation will go a long way. Inside Community Review Braille TTY Update 2 Ears, Hearing and Beyond Conference 2 New Contract with DBSC 3 DVR VideoConference Site 3 Client Advocate Training 3 New ODHH Technology 4 DSHS/ODHH Advisory Committe Needs You 4 ODHH Milestones 5 Sprint: “Do Not Hang-up” 5 ODHH Seeking Relay Service Provider 5 Hearing Loss Support 6 The Lions form AUDIENT 7 WATF Helps People 7 On October 1, 2004, the Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing welcomed Rena Patch as the new Executive Assistant. Ms. Patch has over twenty-five years working for state government and she brings a wealth of knowledge to ODHH. She is anxiously awaiting the arrival of her first grandchild! Hi! My name is Lindsey Trimble and I’m the new Receptionist/Customer Relations Representative for ODHH. I’m the one who answers your calls and processes your requests for telecommunication equipment. Prior to joining ODHH in November, I worked at Shipwreck Beads where I learned customer service skills and gained experience working with computers. I’m working towards my Associates degree. I enjoy spending time with my boyfriend Caleb and my dog Trooper. Any spare time is spent creating jewelry. Office of the Governor Christine Gregoire DSHS Secretary Dennis Braddock HRSA Assistant Secretary Tim Brown ODHH Eric Raff, Director Robert Lichtenberg, Assistant Director Riley Beerbower, Fiscal Technician Brian Clark, IT Manager Lucas Doelman, Office Assistant Emily Hill, Program Support Lien Ngo-Tran, Fiscal Officer Rena Patch, Executive Assistant Steve Peck, ACT Program Manager Kelly Robison, TED Program Manager Colleen Rozmaryn, CAN Program Manager Lindsey Trimble, Customer Relations Representative Advisory Committee on Deafness Jenifer Baker, Lacey jtbphoto@aol.com Bryan Branson, Spokane Blbranson1@msn.com Annette Buckley-Fink, Fife annjan@comcast.net George Cooper, College Place Sargeo@bmi.net William C. Danielson Jr., Grandview wedjr@tmail.com Mary Steinmeyer, Sumner N22Mary@worldnet.att.net Bob Swan, Kennewick Rcjc.swan@verizon.net Susan Tarbet, Spokane Sktsusan46@aol.com Lalo Valdez, Bellevue Valdez5748@ms.com Braille TTY ODHH released a new Request for Proposals (RFP) on January 26, 2005. This RFP is about getting better Braille telecommunications equipment for Deaf-Blind in the State of Washington. Some of you may remember that ODHH issued an RFP about DB equipment in Fall 2003. At that time we wanted a company to build a new device from the ground up. No companies were interested at that time. In 2004 ODHH researched more companies that make Braille devices for blind people. Now we will send the RFP to those companies, asking them if they are interested in modifying their device to become a Braille TTY. We hope this approach will be interesting to these companies. A panel of people who are Deaf and Deaf-Blind will be part of the evaluating team. We have also asked for engineers who are familiar with telecommunications equipment and electronics manufacturing. We anticipate that proposals will be evaluated the week of March 28th through April 5th, 2005. Free Citizens Event ‘Ears, Hearing & Beyond’ April 9, 2005 Ears, Hearing & Beyond, the free annual citizens conference presented by the Virginia Merrill Bloedel Hearing Research Center is for everyone interested in learning more about the ear, prevention of hearing loss, strategies for coping with hearing loss, hearing aids, assistive listening devices, cochlear implants, the latest in current research and more. This year, experts in the hearing field will be giving short informative seminars about what audiologists do, how to read an audiogram, how hearing aids work and what they can do, cochlear implants and other alternative devices to help hearing and what changes the ear goes through as humans age. Additionally, there will be hands-on exhibits. American Sign Language Interpreters, Real Time Captioning and FM Assistive Listening Systems are complimentary and available for the entire conference. The event takes place: April 9th, 2005 9 am to 4 pm on the University of Washington Campus at the HUB, Student Union Building New Contract with Deaf-Blind Service Center (DBSC) Video Access Program The Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) has a new contract with DBSC to teach low vision DB people how to use a D-Link and TV for video communication. The equipment and process is different than using a webcam on a computer. One advantage for many people is that with a big TV screen it is easier to see the other person signing. DBSC now has a video corner set up in their big conference room. There is a large screen TV, a D-Link camera, and a very high speed DSL line. The contract has several parts. One part is training low vision DB people how to use the equipment independently, or with an assistant. DB people who complete training and pass a skills test can use the equipment at DBSC or anywhere else. Some people might choose to get the equipment for their own homes. DB people who pass the skills test must reserve equipment time at DBSC. The general hours will be Monday through Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. to noon. There are two types of video communication available: Video Relay Service (VRS) and what’s called Point-to-Point (P2P). VRS is the same as TTY Relay but with a video camera. P2P is direct video communication with another deaf person, no relay in the middle. For example: if you want to call ODHH (or another place that has the equipment), you can call direct through the camera and communicate in sign language instead of email or TTY. Another part of the contract is to advertise and explain video conferencing to other agencies and businesses. The goal is for other people to understand the technology so when they get a call, they know what’s happening. When TTY Relay started, hearing agencies and businesses did not understand what the process was and they often hung up. This contract is to increase awareness in the hearing and sighted community about this new technology and to teach them how to respond to a video call. For example: we want to explain to Social Security how it works, so if you call them by Video Relay, they will understand what is happening. The contract runs through the end of June. DBSC will be training DB people starting in February. You don’t have to live in Seattle or even King County! They can train anyone in King and Snohomish Counties, and some others. (TACID will provide training for Pierce County.) Training will be available by appointment only. Training classes will be offered during usual work day hours, but we know many of YOU also work. DBSC has agreed to add one evening per month and one or two Saturdays per month. You can sign up for a training time that will fit your schedule. Jackie Engler-Morris is the Project Manager and Liz Halperin is the trainer. Materials are being adapted to be “DB-Friendly” and easier to use. Please contact Jackie by email at: jengler@seattledbsc.org or by phone at (206) 323-5463 TTY for more information. DVR Videoconference Site Implementations In January 2005 ODHH and DVR began working together to set up 11 videoconference sites statewide at regional DVR offices. ODHH has graciously purchased D-Link videophones as the recommended equipment for the DVR videoconference sites. This will allow clients and interested parties to connect to DVR videoconference sites from their homes, offices, regional service centers and other video sites. DVR sites in Bremerton, Yakima, Kennewick and Spokane have been installed with D-Link Videophones and will release the registered videophone number and IP address after DVR staff members have had an adequate time to learn how to appropriately use the videoconference equipment. Client Advocate Training On January 14, 2005, Client advocates from the 6 regional service centers and two staff members from ODHH were given advocate training at CSCDHH in Seattle. Char Parsley, Chad Ludwig and Gloria Dunham provided the training in which the main focus was to improve intake and assessment of clients whom come into the regional service centers for assistance. The training included use of new assessment forms, intake forms, liability & responsibility and awareness of laws requiring client advocates to report suicidal incidents to the police. This process will ensure that the clients receive the appropriate services they are assessed through their client advocates. We certainly hope that the awareness of this valuable training will provide more appropriate assessment of clients who come in our regional service centers for help and services. We also hope the knowledge gained through this training will assist the client advocates in their work within the communities they represent. ODHH would like to extend a BIG thanks to Char, Chad and Gloria for taking their time and energy involved with developing this valuable training session. New ODHH Technology In my role as the IT Manager for ODHH, I had the opportunity to travel with one of my co-workers, Steve Peck, in a visit to Lake Spanaway High School. We went there to demonstrate the new D-Link DCV-1000 i2eye teleconferencing camera to the students of the Deaf program at the high school. Steve and I were there with a representative from the Tacoma Area Coalition of individuals with Disability (TACID), Noel Soliday. Noel gave a presentation on how the video conferencing worked. We expected a small gathering, but were a bit surprised by the large number of people who came to see this new technology. We had the school’s deaf program students, staff, and interpreters; junior high school deaf program students and staff; the high school IT staff as well as parents. It was a full house. I was really surprised at the enthusiasm shown by the students and staff about this new technology. It provides face to face communication which, to me, is very exciting. As the IT manager for ODHH, I rarely have the opportunity to see how our work directly serves the community. This was an enjoyable experience for me and rewarding to see that our work affects people’s lives in a positive way. Here’s a quick update on some of my current projects: My biggest project has been my continuing work on a new database for ODHH. This database will be used for providing and tracking services we provide to you. I am currently working on the module that deals with the Telecommunications Equipment Distribution program. This module has been a real challenge for me, but my co-workers have pulled together to give the help I needed to get this part running. We just replaced our seven year old copier with a model that not only copies, but doubles as a high capacity network printer, fax machine and scanner. This machine makes it faster for the staff to copy, print and fax documents. It will be a big change for our staff since they will be able to do faxing directly from their desks and not have to walk down the hall to the old fax machine. We have just completed the first phase of our wireless video project here in the office. One of our goals has been to use the new D-Link i2eye Teleconferencing cameras to better communicate with our clients and the Centers. We currently have a camera that you can contact us through. We are expanding this service to the desks of many of our staff members. We will be testing this over the next few months to make sure it works well. The DSHS/ODHH Advisory Committee Needs You The Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) is currently in the process of recruiting ethnic minorities who are deaf, hard of hearing, or deaf-blind as well as a speech disabled individual to serve as members for the ODHH advisory committee. Our goal is to ensure that our committee has a balanced representation of the many individuals we serve. This advisory committee provides a necessary and valuable link between ODHH and the communities. Your willingness to invest time to assist these offices in improving the effectiveness of the services provided would be very much appreciated. Members are requested to share any information learned at the meetings with their respective community members for whom they are representing and return to the next meeting with any information received from the communities. The advisory committee meets 3-4 times per year in various locations around the state. All travel arrangements are made for members and reimbursement is provided for mileage when traveling to attend meetings. To request an application, please contact: Rena Patch Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing PO Box 45300 Olympia, WA 98504-5300 Email: patchrr@dshs.wa.gov Phone: 1-800-422-7930 voice/TTY ODHH Families are growing as several staff members have become grandparents lately. Riley Beerbower welcomed a new grandson by the name of Isaac Alexander and a Great Grandson Mason Matthew! Steve Peck is a first-time Grandpa with the arrival of Kameron Douglas and Colleen Rozmaryn is a first-time Grandma welcoming Clara Elizabeth to her family. ODHH Fiscal Year 2004 Milestones 9/8/03 Eric Raff officially begins working as ODHH Director 9/30/03 Outgoing Director, Leon Curtis, officially retired - last day 10/24/03 ODHH releases RFP for a new DeafBlind Communication Device 11/6/03 ODHH submits a letter to FCC recognizing Hands On as a stand- alone Video Relay Service Provider 11/21/03 Deadline to respond to RFP - no responses 2/9/04 ODHH presentation to DSHS Secretary Braddock on CapTel 2/10/04 EndHarm presentation to DSHS Secretary Braddock’s Cabinet 2/29/04 CapTel trial officially ends - began in 2002 and extended three times 3/1/04 Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Approved 3/4/04 Emily Hill officially begins working as Customer Relations Specialist 3/17/04 ODHH presentation on NWDAC for Governor’s Quality Award 3/22/04 Governor Locke signs HB2765 into law establishing the Early Intervention Advisory Committee - ODHH is a representative 4/5/04 ODHH presentation on NWDAC for Governor’s Quality Award 5/1/04 Fiscal Year 2006-2011 ODHH Strategic Plan released 5/3/04 ODHH receives Governor’s Quality Award on NWDAC 5/8/04 ODHH sponsors Deaf World Wide Exposition 5/31/04 Governor Locke signs SB6448 into law transferring TRS surcharge collections to Department of Revenue 6/17/04 ODHH hosts Town Hall Forum in Seattle’s SCC on CSCDHH Throughout the Year ODHH Town Hall Meetings at Centers and SHHH Chapters SHHH - Training Centers on Hard of Hearing issues DBSC - Training Centers on DeafBlind issues ADWAS - Training Centers on advocacy (community advocates) and grants (Directors) issues Nov 03-Sept 04 EndHarm/TTY Accessibility Project Sprint Does “Do Not Hang Up” Mailing to Health Care Providers In cooperation with ODHH, Sprint Account Manager for Washington State, Dan Brubaker, developed an informational postcard that is designed to educate people about calls from TTY and relay service users. The postcards were mailed to over 10,000 health care providers in Washington. ODHH is aware of many reports that businesses often hang up on callers who are using a relay service operator. This “Do Not Hang-up” effort will educate the business community about calls coming from persons who use TRS. ODHH decided to first focus on health care providers because of the importance of having quick and easy access to medical care providers, clinics, and hospitals. Sprint intends to release more of these informational materials to other types of businesses, including banks, law offices, city and county agencies, and other essential service providers. ODHH Seeking Relay Service Provider for 2005-2008 In December, ODHH released a “Request for Qualifications and Quotations” (RFQQ) from companies that provide Telecommunications Relay Services (TRS). The current contract with Sprint will expire on June 27, 2005 and ODHH is seeking a TRS provider for 2005-2008. So far, three companies have sent letters of intention to bid and bids are due February 11, 2005. An evaluation team involving people with experience in relay telecommunications, telephone services, the communication needs of deaf, deaf-blind, hard of hearing, and speech-impaired, and with a knowledge of the statewide organizations will score the responses. ODHH hopes to award a contract to a winning bidder by late March. The RFQQ can be viewed by going to the Internet to the DSHS Procurement Website at: http://www1.dshs.wa.gov/msa/ccs/ Click the link to RFQQ 0434-159. Hearing Loss Support and Education People who experience hearing loss often believe they are alone. That is not true! The Washington State Association of Self-Help for Hard of Hearing (WASA-SHHH) is an organization of, by and for people with hearing loss. Throughout most areas of Washington there are Chapters that meet monthly to discuss such topics as hearing aids, listening strategies and assistive listening devices while enjoying the company of peers. Check out the WASA-SHHH Chapter near you and go make some new friends! Bellevue—2nd Tues. 2:30 pm; Evergreen Court, 900 124th Avenue NE, Bellevue, WA 98005; Prudence Clem: (425) 746-1074 or Jeanette Salsman: jeanettesalsman@yahoo.com or 425-455-4333. Cristwood—350 N. 190th St., Shoreline. Amplification, infrared. Time/location in retirement complex varies. Contact Rose Inouye at 206-542-5541 or e-mail inou@wasa-shhh.org. Downtown Seattle—4th Thurs. 6:00 pm; Community Service Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (CSCDHH), 1609 19th Ave., just off Madison. FM. Focus is on issues and access in the workplace. Judi Carr, facilitator: 206-935-6637 or jstarbright@wasa-shhh.org. East Jefferson County—4th Mon. 1:00 pm; Auditorium, Jefferson General Hospital, 834 Sheridan, Pt. Townsend; amplification, FM. Emily Mandelbaum at mandelbaum@olympus.net or 360-379-4978 or Sandy MacNair: 360-385-1347 or smacnair@cablespeed.com. Everett Area—2nd Sat. 11:00 am; Snohomish Co. PUD Commission Rm., 2320 California, Everett; amplification, FM, real-time captioning. Dave Pearson: 360-653-6746 or DCPearson@wasa-shhh.org. Four Freedoms—1st Thurs. 1:30 pm; Four Freedoms House, Rm. 9, 747 N. 135th St., Seattle; amplification. Eleanor Kowalski: 206-364-3837 or Kelly Richards, Service Coordinator: 206-364-2440; krichards@prudentproperty.com. . Grays Harbor—2nd Tues. 6:00 pm, Timberline Public Library, 121 E. Market, Aberdeen. Wes Brosman: 360-537-0456 or wesbro@olynet.com. Ida Culver House Broadview—2nd Thurs. 2:00 pm, 12505 Greenwood Ave N., Seattle. Michael Craig: 206-368-3713 or MCraig@ERACARE.com. Kitsap—4th Sat. 1:00 pm; Iris Room at Silverdale Harrison Hospital, 1800 N.W. Myhre Road; Amplification, FM, real-time captioning. John Allen, 360-871-0997 or jcallen@wasa-shhh.org871-0997. Orcas Island—2nd Wed. 10:00 am, Orcas Senior Center, 62 Henry Rd., Eastsound; amplification, FM. Susan Kosiur: 360-376-5746 or swkosiur@aol.com. Pt. Angeles— 3rd Tues. 10:00 am; Pt. Angeles Senior Ctr., 328 E. 7th, Pt. Angeles; amplification, FM. Contact: Gladys Snyder, email: gladysjs@macaid.com or 360- 683-9887 Renton—Renton Activity Center, 211 Burnett Ave. N., Renton. 2nd Fri. 12:30, beginning Friday, February 11; Sue Campbell 206-772-5694 or SueCampbell@wasa-shhh.org. SHHH Kids—Just for hard of hearing children and their families. South King County area. Time and location change due to scheduled activities. Sidney Weldele-Wallace: (wk) 253-833-9111, ext. 4705 or 253-833-6487 (h) or sweldele@greenriver.edu. Skagit—2nd Tues. 1:00 pm; Fidalgo Ctr., 1701- 22nd St., Anacortes; amplification, FM. Danny Beatty: 360-293-2793 or dflyb@telcomplus.net. South King County—2nd Fri. 6:45 pm; Auburn Regional Med. Center, Rm. 327, 202 N. Division, Auburn; amplification, FM, real-time captioning. Tom Weicht: trweicht@netzero.net 253-939-9332. Spokane—2nd Sat. 9:30 am at Rock Pointe-East, 1313 N. Atlantic, Spokane, in the DVR conference room; amplification, FM. Please be sure to arrive at 9:30 am or doors will be locked. Mary Jo Harvey: harvemj@netzero.net. Tacoma—2nd Sat. 10:00 am at TACID, 6315 S. 19th St., Tacoma. Amplification, infra-red, real-time captioning. Jerry Hansen: 253-531-6532 or jerryhansen@earthlink.net. The Hearthstone—2nd Tues. 10:30 am; 6720 E. Greenlake Way N., Seattle; amplification, infra-red; Denise Long at 206-517-2224 or dlong@hearthstone.org. Tri-Cities—Contact Robin Traveller toll-free: 1-888-543-6598 or RTraveller@wasa-shhh.org. West Seattle—3rd Wed. 1:30 pm; Fauntleroy Church, UCC Lounge, 9260 California Ave. SW, Seattle; amplification, induction loop. Elaine Maros: elainemaros1@juno.com or Doug Gray at 206-932-6427. Whatcom-Bellingham—3rd Sat. 10:00 am; Christ the Servant Lutheran Church, 1600 Lakeway Dr., Bellingham; amplification, FM; Charlene MacKenzie at 360-738-3756 or CharMacKenzie@cs.com; Bert Lederer 360-319-4540 or bert@lederers.net. Northwest Lions Foundation forms AUDIENT, an Alliance for Accessible Hearing Care The Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing (NLFSH) a non-profit organization in Seattle, Washington has formed AUDIENT, an Alliance for Accessible Hearing Care for low income populations who are challenged by the current cost of hearing care. Today in the United States approximately 28 million children and adults have hearing loss. Of that number, 22 million do not use hearing aids of any kind. Because of high administrative costs associated with government programs, the hearing care professional who desires to serve this low income population generally encounters barriers in providing much-needed hearing care services. “The AUDIENT Alliance has evolved as the best solution for making quality hearing care more accessible to a large segment of the population,” said Mike Langhout, vice president of hearing services for the Northwest Lions Foundation for Sight & Hearing. “It brings together suppliers, hearing professionals, and low-income patients who need access to hearing health care.” NLFSH will manage the AUDIENT Alliance process as a third party administrator. It will perform income qualification of prospective patients, collect patient payments, manage the database of outcome measures from each patient, and provide high quality digital BTE hearing aids. Costs and pricing are designed to be reasonable for both patients and providers of care. Those costs are as follows: For all patients: The total cost for each hearing aid, ear molds, shipping and handling, will be $319 for digital BTE devices with volume control, and $345 for the upgraded power or directional microphone version. In addition, hearing care providers have agreed to a maximum flat fee of $280 for monaural, and $350 for binaural fittings for these services. Providers in the AUDIENT Alliance network have agreed to provide an audiological diagnostic examination, treatment planning, fitting and dispensing ear molds and hearing aids, and two follow up aural rehabilitation visits for hearing check up and adjustment of aids. Taken together, the total cost to qualifying patients for high-quality hearing aids and all related fitting and follow-up visits will range from $599 for a digital BTE device with volume control and a monaural fitting to $1,040 for two aids with upgraded power or incorporated directional microphones and a binaural fitting. The hearing aid includes a Telecoil feature. The AUDIENT process, products and services are only available to low income patients who qualify. Income qualification for participation in the AUDIENT process will be set at 250% of the federal guideline. Today, for a family of one, the household income maximum would calculate at $23,500 annually. To learn more about the AUDIENT process, an Alliance for Accessible Hearing Care, e-mail a request for a brochure info@audientalliance.org. You can also visit the Audient Web site, www.audientalliance.org or call 1-877-AUDIENT, (1-877-283-4368). You may access NLFSH at www.nlfoundation.org. WATF helps people with disabilities get assistive technology they need The Washington Assistive Technology Foundation (WATF) is a non profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities through affordable access to assistive technologies. We provide low interest loans to Washington citizens with disabilities who require assistive technology devices and equipment so they can independently live and work. WATF also provides loans to people with disabilities needing equipment to start businesses from their homes. As a Community Development Financial Institution we provide these loans to people with various income and credit histories and can assist individuals who are not considered “bankable” by other financial institutions. The interest rates are prime to prime plus 2, depending on the person’s ability to pay back the loan. Our goal is to help people with disabilities gain access to all that life has to offer- whether or not at work, home, at school or at play. If interested, please log on to our website www.watf.org, call 1.800.214.8731 (TTY/Voice) or email us at INFO@watf.org. Office of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Toll Free 1(800)422-7930 V/TTY or Direct (360) 902-8000 Eric Raff, Director rafferic@dshs.wa.gov Robert Lichtenberg, Assistant Director lichtrw@dshs.wa.gov Steve Peck, CAN Program Manager pecksc@dshs.wa.gov Kelly Robison, TED Program Manager robiskd@dshs.wa.gov Colleen Rozmaryn, ACT Program Manager rozmaic@dshs.wa.gov Lindsey Trimble, Consumer Relations Representative trimblW@dshs.wa.gov