Office of Public Relations — Newsroom
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contacts: Tonya Ewers, UCDHSC, (303) 724-1520, Tonya.Ewers@uchsc.edu
Linda Engelbrecht, Marion Downs Hearing Center, (720) 848-2975, Linda.Engelbrecht@uch.edu
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Recognizes Colorado's Marion Downs
Named for her instrumental role in creating a national program to screen hearing in newborns
AURORA, Colo. (Oct. 19, 2007) - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Disability will honor Professor Emerita Dr. Marion Downs with the Highest Recognition Award for her outstanding contribution to the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The DHHS will bestow their highest honor to Downs in recognition of her instrumental role in creating a national hearing screening program for newborns and advancing the cause of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative - a national program through the DHHS that helps persons with disabilities to have productive and engaged lives within their communities. The award will be presented at the annual Secretariat event, "Celebrating Persons with Disabilities" in Washington D.C., on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007.
Downs is a world-renowned audiologist who, for more than fifty years has advocated for the importance of identifying newborn infants with hearing loss and offering treatment during the crucial period of brain development. Her commitment led to a now international and ever-expanding movement to screen newborns for deafness and impaired hearing worldwide. Her recognition of the importance of hearing and communication "from cradle to grave" has led to technological advances in identifying and treating individuals of all ages with ear or hearing problems. The University of Colorado Hospital was the first hospital in the world to assess hearing in the nursery through the work of Dr. Downs in the 1960s. "Marion was a pioneer in early identification and intervention of hearing loss and has inspired her colleagues at the Marion Downs Hearing Center to continue her legacy of advocacy and support for children and families," said Sandra Gabbard, PhD, co-director of the Marion Downs Hearing Center (MDHC).
The MDHC is located at the University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., and provides research, educational, diagnostic, medical, psychological and technological services to deaf and hard-of-hearing clients, their families, professionals and the community. The research and programs of the MDHC are considered state-of-the-art, innovative, technologically advanced, and serve as the model of an integrative, inclusive, comprehensive ear center. MDHC is unique in offering treatment options tailored to each client for individualized hearing and communications needs.
A capital campaign is currently underway to build a new state-of-the-art, stand-alone building for the Marion Downs Hearing Center on designated land on the Anschutz Medical Campus. For more information about the Center, contact Linda Engelbrecht at (720) 848-2975 or Linda.Engelbrecht@uch.edu.
The University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center is one of three universities in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver, on the Auraria Campus, at Ninth & Colorado Blvd. and on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora, Colo., UCDHSC is Colorado's premier research university offering more than 100 degrees and programs in 12 schools and colleges and serving more than 28,000 students in Metro Denver and online. For more information, visit the web site at www.ucdhsc.edu or the UCDHSC Newsroom at http://www.uchsc.edu/news.
###