Fri, Feb 1: CMV Awareness Day at NEC Winter Summit Series on Combined Vision and Hearing Loss

I hope you can join in through Zoom for all or part of the day to meet and learn from a variety of CMV experts (doctors, parents, educators).

CMV Awareness Day Agenda 

(scroll down agenda to  Friday, February 12): file:///C:/Users/Lisa%20&%20Jim/Downloads/NECWinterSummitAgenda2021%20(2).pdf  

Free Registration link: Click here

Agenda also below:

An Inconvenient Truth: What You Should Know About Cytomegalovirus (CMV) 

Registration Link 

9:00am to 10:00am What is CMV & cCMV? • Prevalence • Importance of Testing and Universal Screening. Dr. Gail Harrison, MD 

10:00am to 10:45am A Story About Grace: A case study from a medical perspective, followed by Grace’s dad who will describe his personal journey from diagnosis to today. Dr. Margaret Kenna, MD; Shayne Gaffney 

10:45am to 11:00am Break 

1:00am to 11:45am Audiological Considerations Related to CMV: Risk factors for hearing loss; when to test for each risk factor; the range from minor to severe issues. Although there’s no way to point to the trajectory – how to begin to paint the picture. Connecting with you EHDI Champion. Dr. Brenda Balch, MD 

11:45am to 12:15pm Vision Considerations Related to CMV: Ocular issues and brain-based visual impairment; the importance of early identification, follow-up, and intervention Tracy Evans Luiselli, PhD; Talia Mango, M.Ed. 

12:15pm to 1:00pm Lunch 

1:00pm to 2:00pm Preventing Exposure in Childcare Settings, Including OSHA Advisories Universal Precautions (Nellie Brown, MS, CIH) An Inconvenient Truth: What Everyone Should Know • Increased Risk Factors for Parents (Lisa Saunders) 

2:00pm to 3:00pm Parent Perspectives Panel: • Family journeys • Where we’ve been • Where we are today • What we want you to know and do Vanessa & Scott Colleran, Parents Shayne Gaffney, Parent Lisa Saunders, Advocate

3:00pm to 3:45pm Drs. Balch, Kenna, and Harrison will offer their perspectives… Where do we go next? Takeaways: • AAP and EHDI Focus in Your State • Contact Your EDHI Champions to Help Educate Others • The Bottom Line: We Need Universal Screening • MACMV Coalition website • Family Information & Support. Brenda Balch, MD; Margaret Kenna, MD, MPH; Gail Harrison, MD. Closing: Shayne Gaffney, Vanessa Colleran, Lisa Saunders 

Again, registration is free! 

For more information: 

NEC Winter Summit Series on Combined Vision and Hearing Loss

https://www.nationaldb.org/updates/nec-winter-summit-series-on-combined-vision-and-hearing-loss/

or contact:

Tracy Evans Luiselli, Ed.D., Director, New England Consortium on Deafblindness (NEC)
Regional Office:Watertown, MA, Office: (617) 972-7517, tracy.luiselli@perkins.org

I hope you can attend all or part of it!

This News 8 segment on CDC's CMV Awareness week shows how a musician created a song and added her heart to doctors and parents to prevent birth defects. Click here for Mystic mother raises awareness of CMV, a risk for pregnant women and their babies (Sarah Cody, June 13, 2018) 

Lisa Saunders

Baldwinsville, NY 

lisasaunders42@gmail.com

PSA: "Had I known (about CMV)

Author of 

1. Help Childcare Providers Fight CMV. A workbook for child care directors and policy makers.
2. Surviving Loss: The Woodcutter’s Tale: Fairytale about losing a child to congenital CMV.
3. Anything But a Dog! The perfect pet for a girl with CMV. A memoir (Unlimited Publishing, 2008)