Debra Fried, MS, left, with Patricia Gaffney, Au.D, Honors and Awards Subcommittee Chair, American Academy of Audiology Credit: Dallager Photography
Debra Fried, MS, Coordinator of Audiology for Ambulatory Care Operations, and Program Manager for the Newborn Hearing Screening Program at The Mount Sinai Hospital, recently received the American Academy of Audiology’s Humanitarian Award for her work with underserved populations in Nicaragua.
Ms. Fried began traveling to Nicaragua 15 years ago, joining Mayflower Medical Outreach, a volunteer organization to help establish the first audiology clinic in north-central Nicaragua. Over the years, she has designed and implemented an audiometric technician training program for the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health and co-founded the International Humanitarian Hearing Aid Purchasing Program, to provide low-cost, high-quality hearing aids to those in need.
“Her service is not just for a moment, not just for two weeks out of a year, but rather for a lifetime that is committed to lifting and leading the hearing-impaired people of Jinotega, Nicaragua, on a path to self-sufficiency and access to sustainable hearing health care,” the Honors and Awards Committee wrote about Ms. Fried.