By Bill Donovan

Correspondent

GALLUP/2/21/19 — Gallup parents will no longer have to travel to Albuquerque to get their young children tested for various hearing and vision problems, officials at the Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital said Wednesday.

David Conejo, CEO of the hospital, said that the hospital has purchased new equipment that will allow doctors at the hospital – for the first time to do a lot of the testing here, allowing parents to avoid going elsewhere to have it done.

The new equipment will now allow doctors at the hospital to test toddlers as young as 18 months for six different vision problems, including astigmatism. The new hearing equipment will allow doctors here to test babies as young as six months for a variety of hearing problems.

Dr. Thomas Herr, a pediatrician at the hospital, said in the past many of these problems have gone undetected in children until they started going to school because no testing equipment was available to non-Native American parents locally.

“Interest in these types of tests have increased as more parents are recognizing the importance of early testing,” he said, adding that more organizations that provide services for young children, such as Head Start, are requiring that these tests be done before children can be admitted to their programs.

Importance of testing recognized

Officials locally for the Indian Health Service have recognized for decades the importance of these kinds of testing, given the fact that because of genetics, Navajo children encounter astigmatism at a higher rate than non-Indian children. Their rate is higher even than children from other tribes in this area, according to RMCH officials.

The testing, which is now being done at RMCH’s College Clinic, is part of efforts by the hospital to expand its services into areas that have in the past only been offered in cities like Albuquerque.

Herr said the new vision testing equipment cost the hospital about $7,000 while the heating equipment cost half that amount.

“We encourage all parents to make an appointment for these routine exams and assure their children’s good health,” he said. “Waiting until children are school aged may impair their ability to learn.”

Another of the vision problems that RMCH can now test for is amblyopia or, as it more commonly known, lazy eyes. This occurs when the vision in one eye is reduced because the eye and the brain are not working together, said Herr.

The eye in question looks normal but the child is not using it normally and instead favors one eye over the other. In many cases, the parent has no idea that his son or daughter has the problem which is a good reason to have the testing done as early as possible to prevent any lasting effects.

If left undetected, it can lead to the child having serious problems as they grow older. Cause of a loss of depth perception, he said. This condition could result in the permanent reduction of sight in that eye to the point where the person becomes functionally blind in that eye, he said.

Hearing tests

The College Clinic is now proving hearing tests for young children using an ERO-Scan, which is a hand-held device that detects problems in the hearing of a baby as young as six months.

“Central hearing loss is rare in infants and children,” Herr said, adding that the best treatment for these kinds of problems should begin as early as possible to prevent permanent damage.

“Unfortunately, most children are screened only at birth and then again in kindergarten,” he said. “Hearing problems go undetected during the most critical years causing permanent hearing loss to most children.”

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