Continued's Slater advocates for audiology, speech-language pathology professions

Continued’s Joanne Slater, AuD, CCC-A, recently met with United States congressional representatives to discuss policies that affect the fields of audiology and speech-language pathology as part of her role on the Continuing Education Board (CEB) for the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

She and fellow CEB member Tedd Masiongale, MA, CCC-SLP, met with Rep. Rodney Davis (R-IL) and staff representatives for Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-MO) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO).

Discussion included improving Medicare beneficiary direct access to audiology services to enable improved outcomes and reduced overall cost of care. They also discussed improving Medicare beneficiaries’ access to audiology and speech-language pathology services by covering services delivered via telehealth.

"It was an honor to represent the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology on Capitol Hill in order to advocate for the legislation and funding that will ultimately allow us to better serve the needs of our patients."

Additionally, Slater and Masiongale discussed funding needed to fully realize the goals of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) initiative and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Both of these acts are aimed at providing children with communication disorders access to appropriate care during the crucial stages of their development.

“It was an honor to represent the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology on Capitol Hill in order to advocate for the legislation and funding that will ultimately allow us to better serve the needs of our patients," said Slater, Continued’s director of continuing education administration. 

Slater is currently serving a three-year term on ASHA’s CEB, which develops the policies and procedures of the ASHA Continuing Education (CE) provider program.