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11 | O akville B eaver | T hursday,F ebruary 6,2020 insidehalton.com Help the University of Guelph improve hearing healthcare across Canada..adanas Csorce arachtleag hnireah Connect Hearing and Professor Mark Fenske at the University of Guelph are seeking participants who are over 50 years of age, have never worn hearing aids and have not had a hearing test in the last 24 months, for a hearing study that investigates factors that can influence better hearing. Study Parameters The researchers will examine listening in a range of situations, from one-on-one, to group conversations, watching TV and wider social contexts like supermarkets and other noisy environments, and how it effects connection and socialization. Why Participate? It is estimated that 46% of people aged 45 to 87 have some degree of hearing loss, but most do not seek a solution right away. In this study you'll be playing an important part in determining the key factors around identifying hearing loss and what influences the decision to seek treatment. Participants will be significantly adding to growing knowledge surrounding hearing loss. *Wingfield, A., Tun, P. A., & McCoy, S. L. (2005). Hearing Loss in Older Adulthood: What It Is and How It Interacts With Cognitive Performance. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14(3), 144-148. † Study participants must be over 50 years of age and have never worn hearing aids. No fees and no purchase necessary. 1. Cruickshanks, K. L., Wiley, T. L., Tweed, T. S., Klein, B. E. K., Klein, R, Mares-Perlman, J. A., & Nondahl, D. M. (1998). Prevalence of Hearing Loss in Older Adults in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin: The Epidemiology of Hearing Loss Study. Am. J. Epidemiol. 148 (9), 879-886. 2. National Institutes of Health. (2010). You can register to be part of this groundbreaking new hearing study by calling 1.888.242.4892 or visiting connecthearing.ca/hearing-study Halton Healthcare infectious disease specialist Dr. Neil Rau gave Inside Halton some valu- able information on the notori- ous coronavirus and how Oak- ville Trafalgar Memorial Hospi- tal manages potential out- breaks. 1. First of all, OTMH has no suspected or confirmed cases of 2019-nCoV at this time, said Rau, HH's Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control. 2. The new Oakville Trafal- gar Memorial Hospital was de- signed to ensure the ability to manage any outbreaks includ- ing the novel coronavirus (2019- nCoV). 3. Eighty per cent of rooms are single-patient rooms to re- duce the spread of infection. 4. OTMH has 64 airborne pre- caution rooms located through- out the hospital for the isolation of patients with infectious dis- eases, including an entire unit with only airborne precaution rooms. 5. Dedicated hand hygiene sinks in all patient rooms. 6. The building was designed with multiple entrances to sep- arate different patient popula- tions and visitors. 7. Behind the scenes the hos- pital has separate clean/soiled corridors for the transport of such things as food, equipment and garbage, as well as HVAC systems that can isolate specific zones of the building. 8. In the event someone comes to emergency exhibiting signs of a fever and acute respi- ratory illness or pneumonia and has either travelled to the prov- ince of Hubei, China (including Wuhan) in the 14 days before on-Wuhan) in the 14 days before on-W set of illness, has been in close contact with a confirmed or probable case of the virus, or has been in close contact with a per- son with acute respiratory ill- ness who has been to Hubei within 14 days prior to their ill- ness onset, they will immediate- ly be isolated and managed in a negative pressure isolation room with "airborne-droplet- contact precautions." Dr. Rau's team would be con- sulted regarding the need for testing for 2019-nCoV in collabo- ration with Halton Region pub- lic health. 9. OTMH's Infection Preven- tion and Control program, screening processes and hospi- tal design have improved signif- icantly since SARS (the 2003 out- break of Severe Acute Respira- tory Syndrome) and the hospital is much better prepared to re- spond immediately through im- proved diagnostics, surveil- lance measures and communi- cations, which help prevent the spread of infection and identify it quickly. 10. OTMH is safe for patients, visitors and staff and is operat- ing as usual, said Rau. This vi- rus appears to be mild for the most part and the overall profile is therefore completely different from the SARS virus, he said.from the SARS virus, he said.f NEWS HERE ARE 10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT CORONAVIRUS Dr. Neil Rau, Halton Healthcare Medical Director, Infection Prevention and Control, talks about what you need to know regarding coronavirus. Halton Healthcare photo