About the Institute
The Children’s Hearing Institute (CHI) is a non-profit organization supporting innovative research, treatment and educational programs to benefit infants, children and families experiencing profound deafness and hearing loss. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, The National Institutes of Health, Deafness is America’s leading birth defect. Therefore, the work we do is critical in advancing our mission “…that all may hear the universal language of music.”
Our Founders
In 1979 Dr. Simon C. Parisier, a visionary otolaryngology surgeon, began to investigate a revolutionary technology called cochlear implants. In tandem with auditory and speech therapy, these devices have been shown to restore hearing to profoundly deaf individuals. In 1983 he recognized that the restoration of hearing in children with profound neuro-sensory deafness was not enough. Along with his wife Elaine, Dr. Parisier established The Children’s Hearing Institute in order to focus on the “whole child,” an approach which includes comprehensive evaluations and optimal educational placement of children with hearing loss, as well as continuing social and psychological support in the child’s school setting.
The Funds We Raise
Working with philanthropic individuals, corporations and foundations, the Institute has provided more than $8 million toward innovative clinical research and educational programs. Clinical research studies have focused on cochlear implant indications, outcomes and analysis of prognostic factors. Institute-supported clinical advances are highlighted by cochlear implantation in infants as young as nine months old which eradicates deafness and prevents serious developmental delays. Cutting edge cellular research has led to a clearer understanding of cholesteatoma, a congenital destructive ear disorder.
Our Educational Events and Programs
Institute-sponsored educational workshops have given parents and educators the tools they need to help children who are deaf or hearing-impaired to succeed. This year we are sponsoring a full calendar of educational conferences and workshops for parents, families and professionals. The programs we have supported in the past include the Network of Educators of Children with Cochlear Implants (NECCI), Providing Resources and Education for Professionals and Parents (PREPP), the Evelyn Glennie National Music Scholarship and The No Limits Theater Group.
The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary
The Institute is located at The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary, a leader in the fields of eye, ear, nose and throat care. Cited by US News & World Report's "America's Best Hospitals,” the Infirmary is the teaching hospital for New York Medical College, a leading medical school and research facility whose main campus is in Westchester, New York. The Infirmary’s Department of Otolaryngology was founded in 1820 and is the oldest such program in the western hemisphere. The department is a center of excellence with six affiliated hospitals in its residency program. It features a world-class facility for the hands-on-training of surgeons from around the world in performing delicate microsurgical procedures, including repair of perforated eardrums and implantation of cochlear devices.
The Beth Israel/New York Eye & Ear Cochlear Implant Center
In 2004, through an association with Beth Israel Medical Center, Dr. Parisier, the founding director of CHI, now serves as co-director of The Beth Israel/New York Eye & Ear Cochlear Implant Center with co-directors Ronald A. Hoffman, MD, Director of Otology at Beth Israel Medical Center and Jane R. Madell, PhD, CCCA/SLP, Cert-AVT, Director of Beth Israel's Hearing, Speech, Language & Learning Center. The Cochlear Implant Center provides a full range of diagnostic, surgical and rehabilitative services for cochlear implantation for infants, children and adults of all ages. It offers the only English/Spanish bilingual cochlear implant program in the New York Metropolitan area.
|
