Board of Hearing and Speech

Board of Hearing and Speech information

The mandate of the Board of Hearing and Speech is to protect the public's health and safety and to promote the welfare of the state by regulating the competency and quality of professional healthcare providers under its jurisdiction. The board accomplishes this through a variety of activities working with the Department of Health, Health Systems Quality Assurance division.

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Board Information

Description

The Board of Hearing and Speech governs the three separate professions: Hearing aid specialist, audiology, and speech language pathology. The board consists of eleven members to be appointed by the governor.

Members of the board must be residents of this state. Three members represent the public and have an interest in the rights of consumers of health services and must not be or have been a member of, or married to a member of, another licensing board, a licensee of a health occupation board, an employee of a health facility, nor derive his or her primary livelihood from the provision of health services at any level of responsibility. Two members are hearing aid specialists who are licensed, have at least five years of experience in the practice of hearing instrument fitting and dispensing, and must be actively engaged in fitting and dispensing within two years of appointment. Two members of the board are audiologists licensed who have at least five years of experience in the practice of audiology and are actively engaged in practice within two years of appointment. Two members are speech-language pathologists who have at least five years of experience in the practice of speech-language pathology and are actively engaged in practice within two years of appointment. One advisory nonvoting member is a speech-language pathology assistant certified in Washington. One advisory nonvoting member is a medical physician licensed in the state of Washington.

Compensation

Each member is eligible to receive compensation in an amount not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars for each day during which the member attends an official meeting of the group or performs statutorily prescribed duties approved by the chairperson of the group.

Reasonable allowances will be provided to cover reasonable and necessary subsistence and lodging expenses while engaged on official business away from their designated posts of duty.

Powers and duties:

Establish by rule minimum standards and procedures in the fitting and dispensing of hearing instruments as deemed appropriate and in the public interest.
Adopt any other rules necessary.
Develop, approve, and administer or supervise the administration of examinations to applicants for licensure.
Require a licensee or interim permit holder to make restitution to any individual injured by a violation. The authority to require restitution does not limit the board’s authority to take other actions deemed appropriate.
Pass upon the qualifications of applicants for licensure or interim permits and to certify to the secretary.
Recommend requirements for continuing education and continuing competency requirements as a prerequisite to renewing a license or certification.
Adopt rules, if the board finds it appropriate, in response to questions put to it by professional health associations, hearing aid specialists, audiologists, speech-language pathologists, interim permit holders, and consumers in this state.
Adopt rules relating to standards of care relating to hearing aid specialists or audiologists, including the dispensing of hearing instruments, and relating to speech-language pathologists, including dispensing of communication devices.

Board participation expectation guidelines

The following expectation guidelines are intended to serve as a reference for current members and for prospective appointees of the board:

Attend regular board meetings, scheduled quarterly on Fridays during business hours. The board sets its meeting schedule each fall for the following calendar year.
Board members may be appointed to one of the following:
- Disciplinary Committee
- Education/Exam Committee
- Public Relations Committee
- Rules Committee
- Site Review Committee
Prepare for all meetings by reading materials sent one to two weeks in advance of the scheduled meeting date. The packets take an average of two to four hours to read.
Participate on disciplinary panels by telephone several times per year. These calls take less than one hour.
Evaluate and make recommendations on disciplinary cases. Participate in calls with staff attorneys and board staff as needed to develop recommendations. Time spent on disciplinary cases depends on the nature and number of cases assigned to that board member. Each case can take from one to several hours.
Participate on hearing panels from one to several days approximately once per year. A panel of three board members is generally used to hear disciplinary cases.
Mentor newly appointed board members as necessary.

Total annual time commitment

Meetings: Four days per year. Two to four hours of preparation and follow-up per meeting.
Disciplinary calls: Eighteen to twenty per year. Preparation and attendance are usually less than one hour per call.
Disciplinary case review: One to several hours per complaint assigned.
Hearing Panels: One to several days per year.

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Board Members

Name and term expiration date of members

Member	Term End
Brenda Litke, fitter/dispenser	June 6, 2025
Connie Furry, fitter/dispenser	June 6, 2025
Nichole Kingham Furness, audiologist, chairperson	June 6, 2026
Amberkiah Pomeroy, audiologist	June 6, 2025
Taylor Adkins, speech-language pathologist	June 6, 2026
Sonja Bradford, speech-language pathologist, vice-chairperson	June 6, 2025
Ray Parker, public member	June 6, 2025
Paula Benson, public member	June 6, 2024
Robert Richardson, public member	June 6, 2026
Ryota Kashiwazaki, non-voting licensed medical physician	June 6, 2027
Cristy Pellegrini, non-voting licensed speech-language pathology assistant	June 6, 2026

Board Meetings

Meeting information

Please join us either in person or via Microsoft Teams using the provided details.

Date and Location	Activity	Documents
November 1, 2024 Location: Washington State Department of Health, Town Center 2, 111 Israel Rd. S.E., Room 166, Tumwater, WA 98501 Virtual Option: Microsoft Teams Time: 9 a.m. Meeting ID: 286 553 793 714 Passcode: kwdtpH	Regular meeting	Agenda (PDF)

Meeting Minutes