Audiologist recognized at national convention | va gulf coast health care | veterans affairs

Dr. Margaret Peak, the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS) chief of Audiology, received the 2021 Joint Defense Veterans Audiology Conference (JDVAC) Lt. Frank B. Walkup IV

Distinguished Service Award March 3. BILOXI, MISS. - The annual award is designed to recognize special contributions made to the Association of VA Audiologists (AVAA) or to VA Audiology

through VA-related activities. (Official Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS) photo by Wayne Alley, GCVHCS Medical Media) A Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS)

employee was recognized for organization-wide sustained superior performance at the 2021 Joint Defense Veterans Audiology Conference (JDVAC) March 3. Dr. Margaret Peak, Ph.D., the GCVHCS

Chief of Audiology, received the JDVAC Lt. Frank B. Walkup IV Distinguished Service Award during the virtual convention, a recognition she said that although individual, is indicative of the

continued efforts of the organizational approach GCVHCS audiology professionals serving Veterans along the Gulf Coast in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida employ. “The GCVHCS Audiology

Service is truly a team, and we work together to ensure the Veterans we serve have the resources, opportunities and medical treatment they need to ensure continuity of their quality of

life,” she said. “Our employees are known for their integrity, compassion, advocacy and respect, and our Veterans always have been – and will be – the focal point of our service.” The award,

named for Tennessee native Frank B. Walkup IV, an Army Ranger killed in Rashaad, Iraq in 2007 and the son of a VA audiologist, recognizes special contributions made to the Association of VA

Audiologists (AVAA) or to VA Audiology through VA-related activities. The JDVAC is an annual meeting between the AVAA and the Military Audiology Association (MAA), providing opportunities

for networking and collaboration between audiologists treating active-duty service members and those working with Veterans. Originally scheduled in Las Vegas, the 2021 JDVAC was a virtual

event this year due to ongoing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) physical distancing recommendations and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guidelines. The three-day

convention historically features guest speakers, networking opportunities and collaborative sessions covering all aspects of audiology from prevention and conservation through treatment and

rehabilitation. According to Peak, VA and GCVHCS audiologists are licensed healthcare professionals, caring for Veterans through the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of hearing disorders

including hearing loss, balance impairment and tinnitus. “We counsel patients and families regarding good hearing health practices and advise them on appropriate management strategies,” she

said. “Our state-of-the art facilities allow us to use comprehensive diagnostic audiology tests to assess the hearing of GCVHCS beneficiaries so we’re able to provide the best treatment

options which could include hearing aids, personal amplifiers, assistive technologies or cochlear implants.” Peak, who has served at the VA since 1972, said that she has seen audiology

services within the VA expand; the GCVHCS has audiology clinics in Biloxi, Mississippi; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola and Panama City Beach, Florida. She added that GCVHCS issued nearly

11,000 hearing aids in 2019; facilitated the repair of 7,300 hearing aids through the Denver Logistics Center’s (DLC), which provides supply chain management for the VA National Hearing Aid

and Home Telehealth Programs; and repaired nearly 12,000 hearing aids in GCVHCS clinics. Peak added that the GCVHCS Audiology Service encompasses speech needs of Veterans as well, offering a

variety of services for Veterans diagnosed with communication issues. “We use multiple methods to work with Veterans, ranging from face-to-face clinic visits to using telehealth to connect

Veterans in their homes to provide care,” she said. “This is a combined service that also serves the speech communication needs of Veterans, working through to help Veterans regain

communication skills after a stroke or laryngeal surgery as well as help with cognitive organizational skill after a stroke or brain injury.” The Biloxi VA Medical Center and the Mobile,

Pensacola, Eglin and Panama City Beach VA Community-based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) are all part of the Gulf Coast Veterans Healthcare System (GCVHCS) which is headquartered in Biloxi,

Mississippi, and provide a variety of medical outpatient services to more than 75,000 Veterans.