Reston, Virginia (September 8 , 2011) - Richard Danielson, chair of the American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF) Board of Trustees, has announced that Phonak has made a generous gift that will support a new lectureship series at AudiologyNOW! The grant will fund an annual educational program on management and business practices that result in improved audiological care for patients of all ages.
In his announcement, Danielson explained that the idea had germinated following the Audiology and Industry Forum in 2010. "During the meeting, many participants were vocal about the growing need for profession-wide education in business skills as a complement to audiologists' clinical, technical and scientific skills," he stated. "Since the Foundation funds offerings at convention as part of its educational mission, the next step was to explore funding and implementation of a new multi-year lectureship program.
Phonak President and CEO Mike Orscheln and Dianne Meyer, then-chair of the Foundation board, headed up the partnership initiative. "Phonak is very excited to engage with AAAF to launch this dynamic lectureship," stated Orscheln. "I am proud of the collaborative approach we took with Dianne Meyer and Kathleen Devlin Culver of the Foundation to bring this to fruition."
Presentation Focus
The annual presentation, Improving Care through Innovation in Audiology Workplace Management, will launch at the 2012 AudiologyNOW! conference in Boston. The lecture will focus on practical skills for audiologists in a variety of practice settings who strive to improve audiology treatment delivery. Some topics under consideration include the development and implementation of interpersonal and business practices that engage patients resulting in interaction that improve diagnosis and care, and how principles of patient psychology can be incorporated into different healthcare delivery models. In brief, the ultimate goal is providing audiologists with additional skills that ensure that those with hearing-impairment receive the highest level of hearing health care and that audiologists are better equipped to provide that care.
Request for Proposal
AAAF welcomes professional development proposals from experts, both inside and outside of the hearing healthcare industry, that address these topics. A Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found online.
Proposals and supporting materials must be received by October 10, 2011;notification will be made by November 30, 2011. Proposals may be submitted electronically or by mail to:
Kathleen Devlin Culver, MPA, CFRE
American Academy of Audiology Foundation
11730 Plaza America, Suite 300
Reston, VA 20190
kculver@audiology.org
About the American Academy of Audiology Foundation (AAAF)
The American Academy of Audiology Foundation's mission is to promote philanthropy in support of research, education, and public awareness in audiology and hearing science. The AAAF works closely with the American Academy of Audiology to fund research grants;to sponsor educational opportunities for students, audiologists and other hearing professionals;and to increase public understanding of the causes, treatments, and prevention of hearing loss. The AAAF is exempt under 501(c)(3) of the IRS code, and all gifts are tax deductible as allowed by law. For more information, visit the AAAF website at www.audiologyfoundation.org.
About Phonak
Headquartered in Warrenville, Illinois, Phonak LLC was founded in the United States in 1989 with the guiding mission to enrich the lives of the hearing impaired by providing the best products and services through the hearing health professional. Phonak LLC is a Group Company of Sonova, the global leader in hearing healthcare solutions. For more information, please visit www.phonak.com. You can also visit the Phonak web channel on Audiology Online.
