Waingrow Nominated President-Elect

The Nominating Committee has unanimously selected IHS Governor Neil Waingrow, BC-HIS, as the next IHS president-elect. The office becomes available on August 28, 2004 when current President-Elect Harlan Cato, BC-HIS, assumes the presidency.

Applicants to the Nominating Committee were asked to provide their résumé and vision for the future of IHS. Waingrow’s vision follows:

We must continue to be vigilant by observing the legislative, credentialing and educational activities of the various allied healthcare professional associations. However, both our short- and long-term objectives must be clearly defined and our resolve in achieving them unshakable. We must be proactive, always keeping in mind that patient care and scope of practice are among our highest priorities.
We must continue to build upon our strong relationship with the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, working on issues of mutual concern and supporting and strengthening the hearing healthcare team.
The marketplace will demand that we take definitive steps to strengthen entry level requirements for future generations of Hearing Instrument Specialists.® We must embrace, support and perpetuate a two-year degree program with an eye towards a four-year program in the more distant future.
We must continue to work closely with consumer groups and other organizations such as AARP and Self Help for Hard of Hearing People so that we are able to be responsive to the needs of their members.
Board Certification (BC-HIS) should remain the benchmark of professional excellence and serve as a requirement for specific layers of licensing and scope of practice.
The strength of our state and provincial chapters and their ability to safeguard licensing and scope of practice are vitally important to both our short- and long-term objectives. We must develop methods that will allow us to support and interact with each other more effectively.
Membership in IHS should be grown at the state and provincial chapter level. Dual membership, such as with the Alberta, Canada model, should be strongly encouraged.
A team approach is most effective. We must continue to keep our committees active to ensure that we keep pace with both our long- and short-range strategic plans.
Our responsibilities include taking steps to reach and help approximately 80% of the hearing impaired population that has not yet explored an amplification alternative. We will continue to work very closely with the manufacturing community to ensure that we meet the needs and the demands of the marketplace.
Last, but certainly not least, we must continue to strengthen the lines of communication among our members, state and provincial chapters and IHS.

Résumé of Neil Waingrow, BC-HIS

Professional Affiliations, Certifications and Licenses

Licensed: Florida Hearing Aid Dispensing License 1984
Board Certified: National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS)
Member: International Hearing Society (IHS)
Member: Florida Society of Hearing Healthcare Professionals (FSHHP)

Employment History

2003— Director of Operations/10 retail offices
ICHY Inc. d/b/a Miracle-Ear
1989—2003 Director of Patient Services/30 retail offices
Professional Hearing Aid Center, Inc.
d/b/a Miracle-Ear*
1984—1989 Dade/Broward Hearing Aid Service & Acoustical Instrument Company of Florida
1983—1984 North Miami Hearing Aid Center

*Brief sabbaticals to represent Electone, Inc. and Beltone of South Florida

Professional Association and Service

2004— Treasurer, IHS
2004— President, FSHHP
2002— Southeast Governor, IHS
2002— Chair, Convention Committee, IHS
2002—2003 President-Elect, FSHHP
2000—2001 President, FSHHP
2001— Member Assessment Special Task Force, IHS
1998—1999 President-Elect, FSHHP
1999—2002 Chair, Membership Committee, IHS
1998— Special Events (Chair, Silent Auction), IHS
1996—1997 President, FSHHP
1996— Chair, Convention Committee, FSHHP
1995—1996 Vice President, Florida Hearing Aid Society (FHAS) a/k/a FSHHP
1994—1995 Board of Directors, FHAS
1994— Legislative Committee, FSHHP
1990— Education Committee, FSHHP

Special Skills: Photography

1994 IHS Convention Photographer
1990 Photographer for the Democratic Party and Bill Clinton campaign functions
1981—1998 Photographed major league baseball and NFL and other major sporting events

Professional Achievements

Neil Waingrow, BC-HIS, has achieved unparalleled success during his tenure as president of the Florida Society of Hearing Healthcare Professionals (FSHHP). Under his leadership the association is 350 members strong and the other Florida licensed hearing aid specialists moved from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to the Department of Health (DOH) with all other healthcare professions. In 2000, the Florida DOH pursued the deregulation of hearing aid specialists entirely. Their decision triggered a massive legislative campaign by FSHHP that included letters to the governor, the DOH secretary and the lieutenant governor. As a result of FSHHP’s effort, not only did DOH withdraw their proposed language, the Board of Hearing Aid Specialists was able to maintain its autonomy as the sole regulating body for the state of Florida’s hearing aid specialists. Shortly thereafter, the association also successfully defended the merits and continuation of the state funded medicaid hearing aid program, a significant benefit to both consumers and the dispensing community.

The first of several other key accomplishments includes the defeat of proposed Lemon Law language. If enacted, it would have placed an unfair burden on both the dispensing and manufacturing communities. Secondly, after an exhaustive and protracted debate between FSHHP and DOH’s exam services department, language was finally enacted that requires the use of the International Licensing Exam (ILE). The ILE is a practice-based exam created by the International Institute for Hearing Instruments Studies that not only has resulted in a substantial savings to the state of Florida but also measures competency among all applicants based on the same standard.

Waingrow independently developed and facilitated FSHHP’s annual Silent Auction special event into the most successful fund-raising endeavor in its history. These impressive results are duplicated and greatly surpassed under his direct supervision each year at the IHS convention. The success of this program is accomplished by his innate ability to further unite the manufacturing community and IHS, as well as state and provincial chapters.

Under his leadership as chair of the IHS Membership Committee, membership has grown in record numbers over recent times. Waingrow worked closely with state and provincial chapters, helped to develop and distribute a membership video and currently holds a lead position on the Member Assessment Special Task Force. The photography that Waingrow generously provides at IHS conventions and his involvement on other committees at both the state and national levels enable him to develop strong and close working relationships with key leaders from the allied professions, state and provincial leaders and our international partners.

Waingrow’s record of achievement has earned him an unprecedented three terms as president of one of the largest state IHS chapters, which in 2001 received the highly prestigious IHS Chapter of the Year.

The Hearing Professional Magazine