The Starkey Hearing Foundation’s mission is “Change the social consciousness of hearing and hearing matters through education and research while providing the gift of hearing to those in need around the world.”  The foundation was started in 1984 and is called “So the World May Hear”.  They conduct hearing fitting missions with providers who donate their time to the events.  The missions are held throughout the world:  Africa, Asia, Europe & Middle East, Central & Caribbean, Mexico, South America and the United States. Click here for a complete list of the missions around the globe.

During the month of October, 2011, Jacquie Elcox, CEO of Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance and her husband Joe Cooper, went on one of these missions to Honduras.  While there, they and the other volunteer providers fit 1700 patients over the span of 4 days.  Each day they had between 8 and 11 providers doing the fittings.  While many of the patients were children, plenty were adults as well.

The founder of the foundation, William F. Austin has a special message with regards to the children the foundation helps. “It’s important for us to help the children because they’re the future of the world – and if we neglect the children, we diminish our future. This is a very special thing we do for the children. It is something from which they’ll always remember us. Our reward is in the faces and smiles of each person as we help them hear again. This is the best work we could ever do because it’s helping people… and that’s what life is all about. We truly live through what we give – we live on into the future through our gifts back into our community and to humanity.”

Below are a couple of videos about the trip:

About the Mission:  (This link may take a little time to stream, but is worth the wait.)

2011HondurasAudigyVideoEd6.mp4

About the Provider Experience:

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Jacquie Elcox with Integrity Counts! Award

The Better Business Bureau has an annual award the call Integrity Counts! It is an award given to businesses the exhibit the best examples of Integrity in their business practices.  We applied for this award in 2003 and were finalists and wanted to try again for 2012.  We tried and were selected as finalists again the second time around and were honored at an award ceremony on September 29th this year.  There were 65 businesses that were nominated in 2011.  Out of those, 26 businesses were honored.

If you are wondering what goes into applying and receiving such an award, let me explain.  We had to create an informational binder for each committee member that detailed out:

1. Company Philosophy – explaining why we chose integrity an important ingredient in our company structure and behavior.
2. Integrity in Action – short narratives were provided identifying how principal management and staff acted with integrity in at least two of the following situations:  Customer/User relationship, Vendor/Supplier relationship, Employee relationship, Community partnership.
3. Testimonials – we submitted testimonial letters from each of the groups above reflecting our relationship between our company and these groups.
4. External Communication – specific examples of how our company communicates its core values to employees, vendors & suppliers.

Without our great customers, we would have never achieved this award.  We thank all of you who have thanked us over the years and continue to do so.  We encourage all our customers to offer us feedback, both good and bad, about your relationship with us at any time.

Sarah Redmond at PF Chang's

Here are the rules of the contest:

Step 1: If you haven’t already, “like” our Facebook page. You can find it here.

Step 2: On Facebook, vote “Boy” or “Girl”, by replying to any post about the contest.

We will put all names that “like” and “post ‘boy’ or ‘girl’” into a random drawing for a $25 gift certificate to PF Chang’s.

The winner will be announced (along with the baby’s sex) after the birth.

Hope you all have fun, and best of luck in the drawing!

February, 2011

Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance is pleased to announce that Paul Redmond has achieved his AudigyCertified™ Certification from Audigy Group LLC, a national hearing healthcare group by recently completing “Patients for Life”.

Being a Patients for Life (PFL) program Certified Hearing Professional  means necessary requirements have been met to display and deliver the highest levels of patient hearing care and satisfaction. Through multiple hours of initial training and ongoing professional development courses and support, hearing care is able to be brought to a whole new level by connecting with patients on a more personal and customized level, thus being able to provide expert advice and extraordinary technology treatment solutions that are specific to each patient’s individual needs. This type of certification is only offered to the top 3-5% of hearing care providers and audiologists across the nation and is becoming one of the most sought after programs for patient support and retention.

Audigy Certification will assist Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance Clinic  in continuing to provide the local communities of Treasure Valley with hearing care solutions backed by unmatched levels of professionalism, experience and hearing care solutions.

Together, Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance Clinic and Audigy Group combine the strengths of a large, national organization (including the availability of the world’s most advanced technology) with the advantages of local ownership to provide patients with unsurpassed hearing care experience.

By continuously exceeding the expectations of patients, AudigyCertified™ professionals are earning a well-deserved reputation as the preeminent Hearing Care Providers in North America.  AudigyCertified™ professionals embody the following core values of hearing care excellence:

• Experienced Professionals.  AudigyCertified™ professionals are carefully selected based on the quality of care they deliver and their proven ability to provide the highest level of patient satisfaction.

• Expert Advice. Every AudigyCertified professional understands that technology alone doesn’t help people hear better—it’s how well the practitioner works with the patient and applies the technology.

• Extraordinary Technology. AudigyCertified professionals play an active role in developing AGX technology to ensure that their hearing systems incorporate the latest hardware and software advances and are easy for patients to use and care for.

• Excellent Service.  A customer trial period, an extended warranty program, and loss and damage insurance do more than protect a patient’s financial investment—they also help protect the investment that the patient and provider have made together in their partnership for better hearing.

• Exceptional Value.  Value equates to the benefit each patient receives for his or her money.   At every price point, AGX technology delivers greater value to the patient than other hearing systems of comparable cost.

The professionals at Treasure Valley Hearing & Balance Clinic have been helping people hear better since 1990.  They specialize in hearing evaluations, recommendations for personal hearing technology, hearing aid repairs, swimplugs and earmolds, hearing protection and personal listening systems.  With clinics in Boise, Nampa and Eagle as well as outreach clinics throughout the valley, better hearing is just a phone call away!  Call 208-377-0019 or visit www.treasurevalleyhearing.com for more information.