Client Spotlight - HEAR Center

This month the Client Spotlight on Harrington Group’s blog is focusing close to home on HEAR Center in Pasadena, CA. HEAR Center is Pasadena’s leading speech and hearing clinic and the only non-profit of its kind in the San Gabriel Valley.  HEAR Center’s services include Pediatric Speech Therapy and Pediatric and Adult Audiology—including full Audiological testing and Hearing Aid Dispensing.  In addition to their clinical services, HEAR Center conducts over 100 free community screenings each year as well as free follow-up tests for those who are in need.
 
Founded in 1954, HEAR Center was the first organization in the United States to perform infant hearing testing and then provide amplification for those babies diagnosed as deaf or hard of hearing.  Founder Ciwa Griffiths, ED.D was a teacher for the deaf when she developed the Auditory Approach, the main components of therapy being early identification of the hearing problem, treatment with hearing aids, and then the training needed to teach the act of listening and speaking. The main idea behind the Auditory Approach is that if you can identify a child with a hearing loss early in their life and have the chance to treat that loss with a hearing device early on, you increase the chances of that child being able to develop normal speech and language through therapy.
 
Today, HEAR Center’s mission is to help individuals at all stages of life be active participants in the hearing and speaking world.  With an emphasis on providing first-rate care to all, regardless of the ability to pay, they fill a vital role in the Pasadena healthcare community.  Their vision is to be a “Center of Excellence in providing expertise, assistance, compassion, and technology to all those with hearing loss or speech and language impairments as well as those who care for them.”
 
Led by Executive Director (and longtime HEAR Center Audiologist), Ellen Simon, the HEAR Center operates by a list of core values that influence all of their communication and the work they do on a daily basis. “We are committed to meeting the highest levels of service by ensuring we are accountable and responsive to the communities we serve and focused on making a difference;  we foster and honor strong relationships with our partners and affiliates; our choices are driven by continuous improvement and innovation and aims for excellence and integrity; and our practices reflect a commitment to cultural diversity and the knowledge necessary to serve our members with respect and competence,” explains Simon.
 
Community members in need of hearing aid, audiology or speech services not only receive exceptional, state-of-the-art care at HEAR Center, but they also know that the fees for their services in turn help those who are less fortunate and cannot afford the care they need.
 
We are proud at Harrington Group to have the opportunity to serve HEAR Center.