History of the Program
The Guam EHDI Project is 100% federally funded and was established in 2002 through a federal grant awarded to the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, & Service (Guam CEDDERS) by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish Guam's Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Program.
The overall goal of the Project is to ensure all babies born on Guam receive the following:
- hearing screening before discharge from the hospital or birthing site;
- diagnostic audiological evaluation before 3 months of age; and
- early intervention services before 6 months of age.
In 2002, Guam CEDDERS also applied for and received funding through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish an integrated data tracking and surveillance system to support the Guam EHDI Project. Guam received training and technical assistance from the University of Maine to develop the data system, known as Guam ChildLink. In 2006 and 2008, Guam CEDDERS submitted applications to the U.S. HHS HRSA and CDC for continued funding support for the Guam EHDI Project.
Over the course of the Project's 7 years of operation, Guam EHDI has conducted newborn hearing screening for over 23,000 babies born, referred 130 babies for early intervention services, and identified 53 babies with a hearing loss.
Currently, approximately 99% of Guam's newborns are screened at the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, Guam's only public hospital, and the Sagua Mañågu Birthing Center.
Current Grants
The Guam EHDI Project is currently funded through two grants awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:
Guam EHDI Phase III: Reducing Loss to Follow-Up After Failure to Pass Newborn Hearing Screening awarded by HRSA; and
Guam EHDI: System Enhancement and Refinement (SER) awarded by CDC.
Guam EHDI Phase III PDF TEXT
Administrative Structure and Key Partners
The Guam EHDI Project is administered by the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, & Service (Guam CEDDERS) and implemented through key partnerships with the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority (GMHA), Sagua Mañågu Birthing Center, Department of Public Health & Social Services (DPHSS), and the the Guam Department of Education (GDOE) - Division of Special Education, Guam Early Intervention System (GEIS).
Guam EHDI has two similar Administrative Structures relative to the implementation of the Guam EHDI Phase III and Guam EHDI SER grants. (To view a structure click on either one of the grants below)
The Guam EHDI Project ensures integration and coordination of various agencies and programs and a plan for sustainability upon completion of the grant years, through the implementation of Memorandums of Agreements with its key partners. Each key partner has a mutual interest to provide support necessary to fully implement an integrated, sustained, and collaborative effort to fully achieve the goals and objectives of the Guam EHDI Project including data tracking and surveillance through the Guam ChildLink integrated data system.
To view the Memorandum of Agreement for each key partner, click on either logo below.
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