Our Purpose

Our purpose is to empower every individual who lives with hearing loss to communicate easily, effectively, and safely in all medical settings.  We maximize collaborative relationships with patients, providers, administrators, and researchers, working to create impactful outcomes and target projects with the highest potential for results.

Our Work

Engagement & Support

At every step of the way, we inform patients about strategic approaches to self-advocacy for healthcare access.  We invite a wide range of stakeholders to contribute information and recommendations from their own unique perspectives. We highlight and celebrate successful advocacy efforts that impact systemic access. 

Advisory Boards & Workgroups

Collaborations include participation with the following organizations:

  • Hearing Loss Association of America Strategic Team for Communication Access in Health Care

  • American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Communication Access Advisory Group

  • Disability Equity Collaborative (DEC) Work Groups for Standards, Research, and Implementation Guidelines

  • Patient-Provider Communication Network (PPC) 

Awareness & Education

Presentations include:

Bios

Peggy Ellertsen is an advocate for persons with hearing loss, with a primary interest in promoting communication access in healthcare settings.  Her work focuses on both providing support for patients in creating paths to access with innovative planning and partnering with providers, administrators, and researchers with the goal of impacting change across healthcare systems.  

Peggy is a certified speech/language pathologist, now retired.  She is a Life Member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and a past affiliate of ASHA’s Special Interest Groups for Public Health Audiology and Auditory Rehabilitation.  Peggy currently serves on the Board of the Hearing Rehabilitation Foundation, is a member of the strategic team for the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) Communication Access in Health Care program, and is a past member of the HLAA Board of Directors. 

Peggy lives with her husband in Newton, MA and spends much of her time in New York City and New Orleans with her daughters, son-in-law, and grandchild.  She uses a cochlear implant and hearing aid. 

Toni Iacolucci is a dedicated advocate for communication access, working closely with patients, providers, administrators, and researchers to drive systemic change to ensure that individuals with hearing loss can communicate effectively and fully participate in their healthcare.

As co-author of the Guide for Effective Communication in Health Care, a widely distributed resource for both patients and providers, Toni has helped shape best practices in accessible healthcare communication. Her advocacy is deeply rooted in personal experience, having navigated the medical system as both a patient and caregiver with profound hearing loss.

Toni serves as a member of the strategic team of the Hearing Loss Association of America’s (HLAA) Communication Access in Health Care program.  She is a former member of HLAA’s national Board of Directors and currently serves on the Board of Directors of HLAA-NYC. Beyond healthcare, Toni has played a key role in expanding communication access in New York City’s public agencies and cultural institutions. She holds a Master of Social Work (MSW) from Hunter College and has an extensive background as a social work administrator in group facilities across New York City.