2022-2023
Annual Report
Questions or feedback are welcome. Please connect with us at info@nshsc.nshealth.ca.
Our Mission
To improve the lives of Nova Scotians by delivering quality audiology and speech-language pathology services.
Our Vision
Every person deserves a voice. Every voice deserves to be heard.
Client-centered
Leadership
Accessible
Our Values
Supportive
Safety
Intergrity
Collaberation
Message from the Board Chair and CEO
It’s hard to believe that three years after COVID-19 was first identified in our province it is still having an impact. However, at Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia (HSNS), this past year has seen client and patient services back to pre-pandemic levels, and most of our strategic targets either completed or well on the way to being accomplished.
Left to right: Anne Mason-Browne, CEO and Scott Barnett, Chair
Accessibility
Safety and Quality Improvement to Reduce Wait Times
After hearing from our clients that wait times for services were too long, HSNS embarked on a quality improvement project in 2020 to reduce wait times for audiology services. While there are many different aspects that contribute to a wait list, our team wanted to find a data-driven project that would produce long lasting positive impacts for our clients and families.
Scholarship Recipient - Frank's Journey
Frank Day is a Dalhousie Tiger through and through. Born and raised in Nova Scotia, he pursued his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie in Neuroscience, with added certificates in Disability Management and in Neurotechnology and Innovation. He is in his second year pursuing a Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology and is in line to be treasurer of the student council next year.
Making Accessibility a Priority
Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia’s Strategic Plan 2024 (SP2024) has three Strategic themes: Accessibility, Communication, and Engagement. SP2024 is updated annually and reviewed quarterly to confirm the specific annual targets, which will ensure the organization is on track to achieve its long-term strategic goals.
Communication
Cochlear Implants - Technology Plays an Important Role
The Nova Scotia Cochlear Implant Program is a joint program between HSNS, NSH, and the IWK. Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia offers pre-implant assessments to determine candidacy, post-operative activation of the cochlear implants, post-implant follow-up, as well as speech-language consultation. NSH Department of Otolaryngology performs the surgeries in Halifax. To date, the program has completed almost 900 surgeries.
Newborn Hearing Screening Remains High Priority
Hearing and Speech Nova Scotia audiology services span a comprehensive continuum of care (screening, diagnosis, treatment, education) for hearing loss, balance, auditory processing, and related communication disorders. The typical day of a HSNS Audiologist can include seeing Nova Scotians of all ages from newborns to seniors.
Engagement
Client Profile - Ferne Mardlin-Smith
Before 2017, Ferne Mardlin-Smith filled her time with volunteer work, teaching at the local community college, working in healthcare information, and public speaking. However, in August 2017, everything in her life changed when she suffered a severe stroke that took away, among other things, her ability to express herself through speech.
Ferne Mardlin-Smith
Partner Collaboration to Improve Autism Services
At HSNS, collaboration with partners is a guiding tenet in the quality improvement of its services. This is apparent in the work happening in the transformation of preschool autism services in Nova Scotia. The Provincial Preschool Autism Service (PPAS) was announced by the provincial government in April 2022. It is a partnership between IWK Health, Nova Scotia Health (NSH), HSNS and Autism Nova Scotia (ANS).
Partners in Care - 5 Years of Dedication
After a period of relative quiet during the COVID-19 pandemic, HSNS’s Partners in Care Advisory Committee – our group of patient advocates – has been busy with many big and small projects.