The Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) Serving York, Simcoe & Muskoka

● November 2013

SOUND EXPRESS

Charitable Registration Number: 10684 6926 RR0001

HOSPITAL TOOLKITS ............... 1

E-NEWSLETTER ........................ 1

NEW GSS COUNSELLOR .......... 2

GOODBYE JUDY & AUSSA ........ 2

CELL PHONE NEWS .................. 3

DEAF CAFÉ ............................... 3

2013 GRADUATES .................... 4

SCOTIABANK RUN ................... 4

HOLIDAY SALE ITEMS............... 5

HCC NEWS ............................... 6

FIRE SAFETY WEEK .................. 7

STAFF ....................................... 8

OIS SCHEDULING CENTRE ....... 8

AFTER HOURS .......................... 9

CHS MEMBERSHIP FORM ......... 9

WHAT’S IN THIS ISSUE:

Hearing Toolkits for Patients at Southlake Hospital

Now available at Southlake Regional Health Center in Newmarket! Great news!! With the consultation of the Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) York Region, Southlake has proudly launched a Patient Toolkit for people who are Deaf, oral deaf, deafened and hard of hearing. The Toolkit provides infor-mation that can be used to improve communication between patients and staff during hospital visits. Patients can request a Toolkit when admitted to the hospi-tal or if entering through Emergency, Surgery, Diagnostic Imaging, Rehabilita-tion, Obstetric Departments or other clinical areas. The Toolkit is in a large yellow envelope and contains the following:

Patient Access Card (to be filled out by patient - can request another card to give to staff).

Signs for posting in patient rooms (‘I am Deaf’ and ‘I have Hearing Loss’).

Pictograms for Communication, Pain Scale and Word Power Board.

Information and Container for Storage of Hearing Aids/Cochlear Implants.

Lined paper and pencil.

Ontario Interpreting Service Brochure and Contact Information.

Stickers with Universal Symbol of Access.

Survey for Toolkit (to be filled out by patient and given to staff).

Note, the Patient Toolkit is free of charge and is for one-time use only. Patients, please fill out the survey to let Southlake staff know if the

Toolkits have improved communication in any way. Phone: 905-895-4521 TTY: 905-952-3062

Also, feel free to provide feedback to the CHS York Region office: Phone: 1-877-715-7511 TTY: 1-877-817-8213

or email Pat Lehti: plehti@chs.ca.

Spread the word!! Please pass on the message to other community members who are Deaf, oral deaf, deafened or hard of hearing and let

them know Hearing Toolkits are available at Southlake!!!

CHS is going green! In an effort to cut costs and to save paper, we will no longer be printing or mailing out our CHS newsletter. If you know someone who would like to receive it, please tell them to contact Pat Lehti at: plehti@chs.ca or call the Newmarket office at 905-715-7511 and provide an EMAIL ADDRESS and we will be happy to add their name to the email distribution list.

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

We would like to take this op-portunity to introduce Meher Dadabhoy to our Newmarket office. She graduated from Gallaudet with a Masters in counselling. She is originally from India and understands the South Asian community. In addition to ASL she can speak 4 other languages. Meher is replacing Gil Lillie as General Support Services Counsellor.

We bid farewell to Aussa Penniall from our

Bracebridge office. We will miss her lovely smile and beautiful British accent.

“...your departure will leave a void and an emptiness that can never be filled…”

“...you have so much integrity and respect for everyone…”

“...You have the undisputed sole of an advocate and believe accessibility is

the right for ALL people…”

“...you have been such a pillar for the Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing community, a champion for the staff, a defender of rights for everyone…”

“...you were the best advocate for OIS, tirelessly educating the hearing public about the rights for access for people whose first language is

ASL…”

JUST A FEW OF THE COMMENTS MADE

TO JUDY UPON HER RETIREMENT:

Farewell to judy michel

With Linda, Kelly, Barb & Pat

With Luke Adams, Pat & Diane

With Noor, Tim, Gilbert & Kelly

Judy & Pat S.

Sandra & Judy

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

DEAF CAFÉ

FOR DEAF PEOPLE IN AND AROUND YORK REGION.

FROM 1:00 PM TO 3:00 PM

DATE LOCATION TUESDAY HILLCREST MALL NOV. 19, 2013 FOOD COURT TUESDAY UPPER CANADA MALL DEC. 17, 2013 FOOD COURT TUESDAY HILLCREST MALL JAN. 21, 2014 FOOD COURT TUESDAY UPPER CANADA MALL FEB. 18, 2014 FOOD COURT TUESDAY HILLCREST MALL MARCH 18, 2014 FOOD COURT TUESDAY UPPER CANADA MALL APRIL 15, 2014 FOOD COURT

PLEASE EMAIL PAT AT

plehti@chs.ca

OR CALL THE OFFICE AT

1-877-817-8213 (TTY)

WE HOPE YOU TAKE

ADVANTAGE OF THIS GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO GET

TOGETHER AND CHAT WITH OLD AND NEW FRIENDS AND COME AND MEET OUR NEW

GSS COUNSELLOR, MEHER DADABHOY!!!

Tips for Finding a Hearing Aid Compatible Cell Phone

Article Submitted by Cathy O’Connor from CHHA National newsletter, Nov. 2013

In recent years, the government has teamed up with cell phone manufac-turers to ensure that everyone can safely and comfortably use a cell phone. In a world where everyone has a phone on them at almost all times, it’s more im-portant than ever that people with hearing loss have the opportunity to have this technology as well. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Asso-ciation, the Federal Communications Commission now requires cell phone mak-ers to create phones and accessories that cater to people with hearing aids, ear pieces and cochlear implants. Look for a hearing aid compatible label on the phone. Hearing aid compat-ible, or HAC, phones will have an HAC label on the device itself. This label can be found either on the information card at the cell phone retailer, on the package of the phone itself or inside the user manual for the cell phone. This label en-sures that you are getting a phone that works well with hearing aids and cochle-ar implants. It’s the first step you should take when looking for a cell phone for someone who needs assistance in order to hear. Ask about the cell phone rating and how it combines with your hearing aid rating. You will want to find a cell phone that has a microphone rating of at least M3, and possibly even M4. You will also want the phone to have a telecoil rating of T3 or T4, as this helps to create a clear conversation. Combine the phone ratings with the ratings on your hearing aids to decide which phone will be best for you. Ideally, you will want to have a combined rating of about 6 — this is the best possible score. However, a score of 4 and 5 is considered to be usable and should work out just fine. Choose a phone with light-up alerts as well as vibration features. This means that the user will be alerted in various ways using different senses when a call or text message is coming in. Some phones will have screens that light up as a call is coming through, alerting a person visually that someone is trying to reach them. In addition, most phones on the market today have a vibrate fea-ture. Settings on the phone can be adjusted so that the user will feel a slight vi-bration when someone is calling, texting or has left them a voicemail message. These settings provide the user with hearing loss security that they will know when someone is trying to reach them, regardless of how well they can hear their cell phone. Consider trying out the phone before you make the final purchase, and understand the cancelation policy of the cell phone provider. Most cell phone retailers will allow you to handle the phone and test its features before you make the final purchase. This allows you to test ring tone settings, call volume settings and speaker phone settings. Depending on the retailer, you may be able to try out the cell phone for a day or two to see how you like it. Make sure you com-pletely understand the cancelation policy of both the retailer and the cell phone service provider before you make the final purchase. Whether you are hoping to buy your child who has hearing aids their first cell phone or you are looking to provide your elderly parents with a phone to keep them safe, you will want to choose a make and model that is hearing aid compatible. Most phones have to have some compatibility with hearing aids and cochlear implants, but as with anything, some phones have better performance.

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

Congratulations Graduates!!

CLASS of 2013 Alexander - Mackenzie

High School

Well done!!

Kevin Bui Ryan Duarte

Fiorella Cornacchia.

Linda Jones from The Canadian Hearing

Society Attended the evening

and presented each with a certificate and a gift.

Nick jumped on the bandwagon quickly to sign up for the half marathon, once he knew we were looking for people to participate in the Scotiabank Marathon for CHS. His cousin Mimma, who was doing the half marathon, also wanted people to support CHS on her behalf. Then he set off completing his twin goals to fundraise for CHS along with training for the half marathon. It looked like everything was going well, until I heard from Nick who was suddenly facing the possibility of having to drop out of this event. Nick had sore knees, and it required physio 3 to 4 times a week. In addition, he was advised by his doctors not to run the entire half marathon event. He knew he did not want to disappoint all those people who supported him for CHS-York up to that point. Nick decided to take the “wait and see” approach for how he felt during the days leading up to it. He had a plan for Sunday which was to walk a few km and to run a few km. He had encouragement from friends, family and especially his cousin Mimma along the way.

In Nick's words, he described what happened at the end of the half marathon:

"In the last three km, I had to walk to the finish line, because my knee couldn't take it anymore.It was an amazing feeling that I didn't give up and wanted to continue walking to

the finish line. I kept asking other injured runners/walkers: "Are you giving up?" They replied NO! We cheered each other on and we kept going…

I am really glad I did the half-marathon for CHS York region."

I am proud of Nick for showing all of us what true passion, commitment and courage are.

Nick DiCapua and his cousin Mimma at the finish line

The York Monarchs also successfully finished the 5k walk.

From left: Samina Akhtar, Judy Michel, Kim Pape-Green

PHOTO BY MARATHON PHOTOS.COM

PHOTO BY MARATHON PHOTOS.COM

Story by Kim Pape-Green

CHS has a variety of ASL classes available, depending

upon interest.

We need a minimum of 12 students to run a class.

All classes are held

at our CHS office:

713 Davis Drive, Newmarket

To register, or for more information

please contact Pat Lehti: 905-715-7511 plehti@chs.ca

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

Sign Language Classes

Phone: 905-715-7511 TTY: 1-877-817-8213

Want a great gift idea for a Sign language student

or a family member?

The Canadian Dictionary of ASL

Amazon.ca - $62.70 Chaptersindigo.ca - $66.00 The latest

addition to our Simcoe -York family, Ekko,

seen here in his Hallowe’en

costume as the cowardly lion. Welcome and

congrats to Cathy O’Connor!

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY

Sound Express ● November 2013

Very Interesting

HCCP CONFERENCE ON NOVEMBER 4-7

All HCCP counsellors gathered for their highly anticipated

conference that was held in Mississauga.

The 4 days were filled with educational sessions. Monday afternoon‘s

presenter was Dr. Marnin Heisel from the University of Western On-

tario. The topic was Suicide Risk Assessment and Intervention With

Older Adults. The presentation was informative.

The HCC Program will be undergoing changes to streamline

services to better serve our clients.

The Hearing Help Classes curriculum has been changed. The

new classes will be 9 weeks in length and will include modules such

as:

Introduction to hearing and hearing loss

Hearing Aids part I and II

Communication Strategies

The classes will be offered in York Region in the spring. Please call

our office to find our more information about the classes, the cost and

when they will be offered.

We are looking forward to sharing this new information with you.

HCC goes to Georgina Island!!!!

It was a lovely summer day in July, when we set off to Georgina

Island to attend their annual Health Fair. The only problem was that

one hccp counsellor (not Barb or Sara) is afraid of water and ferries.

The health fair was a great success. We had 30 people come to our ta-

ble. We were asked to provide a clinic day.

So we set off again on September 25 and October 16. We were well

received; our day was fully booked with appointments. We provided

hearing screenings, information and referrals.

We finally

got there

without too

much fuss.

The annual Health

Fair is held in the

summer time, and

is attended by

service providers

of York Region.

Barrie CHS

office hours:

Open Tuesdays,

Wednesdays and

Thursdays

9 to 12 and 1 to 5

Mondays & Fridays

9 to 5

by appointment.

Bracebridge CHS

Office Hours:

Open Tuesdays,

Wednesdays &

Thursdays

9 to 5

By appointment.

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

DID YOU KNOW? Fire Prevention Week is held in

October annually across Canada.

FIRE SAFETY WEEK

Joyce Di Clemente, Joey Teixeira, Linda Jones

Linda Jones & Dick Glen, Fire Safety Prevention Officer

Joyce Di Clemente & Fire Safety Volunteer

O n September 28, 2013, Linda Jones, CHS Communi-cation Devices Specialist for York Region, attended

the Annual Central York Fire Open House in Aurora. She demonstrated alerting devices to the audience. Many children and parents enjoyed seeing the live demonstration of the visu-al alerting system by holding the bed-shaker!

V isual Strobes and Smoke/C02 Alarm Detectors were presented to York Region Fire Departments from nine

municipalities. Pictured left (centre): Linda Jones and Dick Glen, Fire Safety Prevention Officer of Markham Fire and Emergency Services.

P atricia Teixeira, CONNECT Counsellor for CHS York, and her son, Joey enjoyed learning all about Fire

Safety Prevention. Joey loved the bouncy fire truck slide. He went down over and over again. There were many different activities provided such as:

Going to different fire-related activities and getting a stamp. When they got all the stamps, they put their name in for a prize. Two firefighting hose activities: putting out a fake burning house and moving a ball along a clothesline. Demo of various alarm detectors, fire prevention escape plans and the aerial ladder. Jaws of Life removed the roof of a car. Kids enjoyed dressing up as firefighters. Train ride offered to/from the parking lots to the station FREE fire-related items to take home such as crayons, colouring material, firefighter hats, cards, etc… FREE popcorn and juice boxes!

F irefighter volunteers were very informative and engaging with the kids. I would like to encourage

all residents to attend Fire Prevention Week next year in your community!

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY Sound Express ● November 2013

Regional Director

Maggie Doherty-Gilbert

Regional Program Manager

Peggy Norton-Harris

Program Assistants

Pat Lehti - York

Alice Byl - Simcoe

Ontario Interpreting Services

(OIS) Staff Interpreter

Sandra Fox

General Support Services

Counsellor

York Region

Meher Dadabhoy

Hearing Care Counsellors

York Region

Noor Ratansi-Iamurri

Barbara Reid

Sara Jiang

Hearing Care Counsellors

County of Simcoe

Catherine O’Connor

Ross Hart

Hearing Care Counsellor

Regional Municipality of Muskoka

Sara Clipsham

Mental Health Counsellor

CONNECT Counselling Services

Patricia Teixeira

Communication Devices

Specialist

Linda Jones

Newsletter Editor

Pat Lehti

New Service Dog

Ekko

STAFF Hello everyone!! By now, you all have had a chance to use the new Scheduling Centre in Ottawa. We got an email from the Scheduling Centre and boy, are they busy!! Since May 2013 for all of Ontario, they have taken 14,000 requests to book an interpreter. Every month they get over 2000 requests, ei-ther through email, Skype, or phone call. That means that every day they get 100 - 120 requests to book an interpreter for an appoint-ment. The system and the staff are still new and they are trying their best to make sure that every request gets booked. There will be mistakes when you have so many requests in one day. If a mistake has happened more than once or if you are not satisfied with the interpreter service, or something went wrong and the inter-preter didn’t show up, or the time got mixed up, there are 3 ways you can complain:

1) Go to www.chs.ca, at the bottom of the page is the complaint policy. Click on the words “complaint policy” to get to the complaint page.

2) Contact Bev Dooley, Customer Service Manager at info@chs.ca. 3) Send an email directly to Michael Warburton, the Program

Manager at mwarburton@chs.ca.

DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO ASK FOR THE INTERPRETER THAT YOU PREFER?

Some Deaf people like to have the same interpreter because that interpreter has all the background information from your last appointments, or maybe you feel more comfortable with some interpreters. When you email, Skype or TTY call to the Schedul-ing Centre, give them all the information about your appointment and then ask them to please make sure to book your preferred interpreter. If your preferred interpreter is not available, you can ask the Scheduling Centre to call the doctor, or bank or wherev-er and try to book the appointment when the interpreter you want is available. If you cannot wait for your preferred interpret-er, then the Scheduling Centre will try to find a freelance inter-preter for you. You can also tell the Scheduling Centre about interpreters you do not want, you do have the right to refuse an Interpreter if you did not feel comfortable or had trouble understanding them. You want to make sure that you have clear communication for your appointments. It is important that you understand what is being said to you because you don’t want anything to go wrong with any part of your life. The Scheduling Centre is very flexible and willing to do what you ask.

Sandra Fox—Staff Interpreter

THE CANADIAN HEARING SOCIETY

Emergency Interpreting Services

Emergency Interpreting services for health and mental health.

Services Available: 7 days per week / 365 days per year

( 24 hours per day)

TTY: 1 - 866 - 831 - 4657 Phone: 1 - 866 - 256 - 5142

Blackberry and email : OIS@answerplus.ca

Note: After-hours service may not be available in all regions.

Become a member of CHS!

We are always in need of additional resources, both human and

financial, and are deeply grateful for all donations, including the

time and talents of many dedicated volunteers.

1-year individual membership: $25

Other family members living at the same address: $5 each

Receive Vibes, Canadian Hearing Society (CHS) magazine, and

voting privileges at CHS Annual General Meeting. Qualify for

Sound Rewards Program.

Lifetime membership: $250

Receive all of the above, a beautiful CHS pin, and

a charitable tax receipt.

Please do not share my information with other organizations.

I’d like to become a member and/or donate:$

Name:

Address:

City: Province: Postal

Code:

Phone/TTY: Email :

Payment by: Cash Cheque VISA MasterCard

Card Number

Membership Benefits

CHS Membership Form

Sound Express ● November 2013

Please mail completed

membership form to any of the following

offices:

CHS MUSKOKA:

175 Manitoba St., Suite 103

Bracebridge, ON P1L 1S3 Phone: (705) 645-8882

Toll-free TTY: 1-877-872-0585 Fax: (705) 645-0182

Toll-free phone:1-877-840-8882 Hours of operation: By APPOINTMENT

CHS SIMCOE:

64 Cedar Pointe Drive,

Suite 1412 Barrie, ON L4N 5R7

Phone: (705) 737-3190 Toll-free TTY: 1-877-872-0585

Fax: (705) 722-0381

CHS YORK REGION:

713 Davis Drive, Suite 105 Newmarket, ON L3Y 2R3 Phone: (905) 715-7511

Fax: (905) 715-7109 Toll-free TTY:1-877-817-8213

Toll-free phone: 1-877-715-7511