The Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center (CHSC) celebrated their Grand Opening on Saturday, November 2, 2019. The Celebration featured a bounce house, tours of the facility, arts and crafts, games, prizes, a drawing for a free pair of hearing aids (up to a $5,000 value), and free hearing screenings for ages 2 and up, as well as free speech-language screenings for children ages 2-12. iHeart Radio Charlotte was also broadcasting live from the event and was on hand with some fun swag to give away. While CHSC is well known in the community, this new location is larger and will allow them to better serve the public. “The mission of Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center is to provide access to superior speech-language and hearing services that empower and transform lives.”
Kirsten Gantt, Marketing and Communications Manager for CHSC, was kind enough to give Tri W News the tour and breakdown of the new facility. “Our new location at 2605 W. Roosevelt Blvd. in Monroe is triple the size of our previous office, features a Hearing Technology Center as well as multiple Speech-Language Therapy Suites, and is handicapped accessible with plenty of parking. We are thrilled to have recently added Audiologist, Dr. Alyse Stempel, to our team. Dr. Stempel sees patients in our Monroe office on Tuesdays and Thursdays and in our Charlotte office on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We also have three Speech-Language Pathologists at our new Monroe office, who moved from our previous Corporate Plaza location.”
Gantt adds, “Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center was founded in 1967 by the Junior League of Charlotte as a preschool for children born with hearing impairments as a result of the Rubella epidemic. Today, we are the only free-standing, nonprofit speech and hearing center in the state. Our Hearing Services Bank is absolutely unique and has been providing access to excellent clinical care to individuals of all income levels for over 52 years.”
Shannon Tucker, Executive Director of CHSC, added, “We receive funding from the United Way of Union County and Union County Community Foundation. Their support allows us to provide free speech and language screenings in low-income areas and through that, we’ve learned that almost a third of children have delayed speech and language development and are in need of services. We’re the only clinic that provides hearing aids, regardless of ability to pay. We operate on a sliding fee that will adjust pricing based on family income. That’s how we provide hearing services to everyone and aren’t limited to those who can afford them. We use the money from private pay clients to reinvest in the technology and providers so that we are up to date like any other facility. Mostly we want to let the people know that we are here for everyone!”
CHSC has an onsite hearing aid repair facility. Since these devices can be expensive, having a local shop to repair them with same day services is critical and they accept walk-ins for hearing aid repairs. The new CHSC location has sound booths where they can conduct hearing tests for ages 2 and up with hearing loss due to noise damage, age, or other reasons. They also work with children and adults with speech disorders, including lisps, difficulty saying certain sounds, or not at the correct speech development for age.
Gantt finishes with the reminder that “Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center is a nonprofit organization that relies on the generosity of our community. Through donations from individuals and businesses as well as grants, we are able to offer several community programs and services for children and adults struggling with speech-language and hearing disorders. If you are interested in supporting our organization and programs, please consider making a donation online at www.CharlotteSpeechHearing.com/donate.”
Charlotte Speech and Hearing Center; 741 Kenilworth Ave., Ste. 100, Charlotte, NC 28204; 2605 West Roosevelt Blvd., Monroe, NC 28110; www.CharlotteSpeechHearing.com; 704-523-8027
