User:RedSprucer/sandbox

American Cochlear Implant Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to improve access to, and awareness about, cochlear implants.

History
ACI Alliance was established in Delaware in October 2011 by a group of surgeons, audiologists, and speech-language pathologists.

Membership
Members are cochlear implant clinicians and other health professionals, educators of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, scientists, adults with hearing loss, parents, students, and military members. In 2021 there were 103 clinics, hospitals, and schools that were organizational members.

(***This section entirely sourced to a primary source, the ACI Alliance. Try to find another source or delete****)

Related activities
ACI Alliance partners with universities and other research organizations to conduct studies on cochlear implant-related topics such as quality of life, cost-effectiveness, and outcomes that may improve understanding and access (***Many of these studies do not mention ACI. Remove****)

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf notes the low utilization of cochlear implants among people who could benefit and the need to improve awareness. (**Not written in an encyclopedic tone***)

The organization strives to improve public awareness about cochlear implants and provide accurate, research-based information on insurance coverage, surgical aspects, and typical outcomes. (***not supported by these sources***)

Public policy advocacy is supported by 145 State Champions in 40 states. (***non-reliable source****)

ACI Alliance participates in national coalitions including the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Alliance and Independence Through Enhancement of Medicare and Medicaid (ITEM).

Conferences
ACI Alliance’s first annual conference was held in Washington, DC in October 2013. Recent conferences have become international in scope and have been hosted in Nashville, TN; Washington, DC; Toronto, Canada; San Francisco, CA, and Miami, FL. ACI Alliance held virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021 and will host CI2022 in Washington, DC in May 2022. (***unsourced***)

Important outcomes of the annual conference include opportunities for students and early career clinicians to share their research and engage with experienced clinician-scientists during the annual scientific poster session with recognition awards for three highest-ranked posters. Conference proceedings are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals to extend the availability of scientific findings to a broad international audience and promote best practice.

Elected and appointed officials with an interest in hearing healthcare are involved as speakers at the conferences. In 2018, US Congressman David McKinley (R-WV) who co-chairs the Congressional Hearing Health Caucus, spoke addressing the importance of access to hearing health services. (***press release***)

The ACI Alliance annual conference includes the John Niparko Memorial Lecture. Surgeon-scientist and ACI Alliance founding member John Niparko was the principal investigator for the long-running NIH-funded study Spoken Language Development in Children Following Cochlear Implantation. (***not applicable to this page****)