By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ohio hospitals have earned the dubious distinction of being the worst in the nation at testing newborns for hearing problems.

Ohio ranks as the worst of six states nationwide that got "unsatisfactory" ratings in a report issued earlier this month by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

More than 12,000 infants nationwide - about one in 300 births - are born each year with hearing impairments. Detecting hearing problems within the first three months is critical, deafness experts say, for avoiding harm to communication skills, social function and academic development.

Nationwide, an average 86.5 percent of newborns in May 2003 got hearing tests before they left the hospital - up sharply from 69 percent in May 2002, according to the report. But in Ohio, 22 percent of babies got screenings this year - unchanged from last year and by far the worst rate nationwide.

The next lowest rate was reported by California - 57.7 percent.

Susan Greco, executive director of the Deafness Research Foundation, which co-sponsored the study, said she hoped the report would spur Ohio leaders to focus on the issue.

Forty states got "excellent" ratings because at least 90 percent of newborns were screened. Five states were ranked as "good" because at least 80 percent of babies were screened. The six "unsatisfactory" states were those with fewer than 80 percent of infants getting screenings.

Kentucky (99 percent) and Indiana (97 percent) received "excellent" rankings.

Ohio health officials said they were working on the issue before the report emerged.

In February, a "Universal Newborn Hearing Screening" bill, passed last year, took effect. The law requires all hospitals to perform hearing tests on newborns by June 30, 2004.

So far, 26 of the 122 Ohio hospitals that have maternity units already comply with the new rules, including Clinton Memorial Hospital in Wilmington. At least one other area hospital - Good Samaritan Hospital - is among more than 40 in Ohio that have voluntarily begun infant hearing testing programs, said Reena Kothari, an infant hearing program consultant with the Ohio Department of Health.

In Greater Cincinnati, 17 hospitals offer maternity services, including 12 in Southwest Ohio.

Until now, Ohio required hospitals to use a paper assessment questionnaire to determine an elevated risk of hearing impairment. Hearing testing was required only after the form identified a risk.

The rest of the nation's medical systems have been shifting toward testing every newborn; 38 states had passed laws requiring the testing before Ohio's law took effect.

"It is becoming the standard of care for newborns," Kothari said. "Hospitals in Ohio are catching up."

Whether Ohio hospitals will be able to hire audiologists and order testing equipment fast enough to meet next year's deadline remains to be seen.

For example, Good Samaritan - which delivers more than 6,000 babies a year as the area's biggest maternity unit - has been doing hearing testing for more than two years. But Bethesda North Hospital - the other member of the TriHealth hospital group - does not perform the tests.

"We will be ready before the June 2004 deadline. We already have the equipment, but we have not yet hired an audiologist," said spokesman Joe Kelley.

E-mail tbonfield@enquirer.com