CARE through the pandemic

Feb. 14—Dr. Johnnie Sexton accepts an award during the Oticon Focus on People Awards. The Garland native has transformed his outreach over the past year on his mission to reach out to deaf and hard-of-hearing children and their families.

Courtesy Photo

Garland Mayor Winifred Murphy honors Dr. Johnnie Sexton during the town's Unity Ceremony.

Courtesy Photo

As an audiologist working with deaf and hard-of-hearing children, Johnnie Sexton was devastated when he wasn't able to travel and reach families when the pandemic started.

But the Garland native was determined to not let COVID-19 stop the mission of the The CARE Project. Now in its 11th year, CARE is an acronym for Counseling, Audiologic Rehabilitation and Education. The nonprofit is hosting virtual experiences for families to fulfill the organization's goals.

"It's even more important that we try to reach out to families now because of the isolation created by the pandemic," Sexton said. "Even before the pandemic hit, the number one comment that parents made to me was that they felt alone and isolated and here we are living in a situation where we're all trying to isolate for the most part. We're trying to be careful, but it's really important for me to find a way to keep doing what we're doing."

Sexton had to redesign everything and launch the virtual experience. Doing so is allowing Sexton to work in any state in America. Some of them include Texas, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Alaska. To make these events possible, Sexton connected with officials from state health departments and Early Hearing Detection and Intervention centers.

A North Carolina event is coming up for families on Saturday, March 13. For the first time, the event will be offered in both English and Spanish, with sign language interpreting services included. Sexton will be assisted by the Division of Services for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, NC Department of Health and Human Services. The event is free for parents who are deaf and hard of hearing.

"After several weeks, I just realized that the absence for services for these families would be even further detrimental to their mental health and emotional health, so we figured out a way," he said. "It was trial and error at first. It was let's try this and what did we learn from that and let's try it differently next time. We evolved over the past few years, more than I ever dreamed that we could."

The time also gave Sexton a chance to come up with new agendas and topics for families. The last one was called "Show and Tell," which allowed children and parents to get involved.

"The kids with hearing loss are able to sign up and show us anything," he said. "We had a 10-year-old showing us how he can skateboard the other week. We had kids showing us their favorite toys, puzzles, or their favorite anything. It really took us into a whole new creative space, for which I'm very grateful."

After reaching out to officials in different states, Sexton was able to receive grant funding. For the Care Project, another irony in the process is that virtual events cost less when it comes to traveling, renting venues, and booking hotel rooms for families.

"Our cost to deliver services are so much less," he said. "We stretch those dollars further and reach families in all directions. When I book something in a state like New Jersey, because it's virtual, a family in Sampson County can register and join them. That's not a bad thing — that's a good thing."

CARE started in southeastern North Carolina. As an audiologist, Sexton saw firsthand the challenges that families face with deaf or hard-of-hearing children. Medical technologies and education may help a child get through life on a day-to-day basis, but the emotional strains of dealing with it was not covered.

During the last 10 years, CARE expanded its reach by teaching professionals about the importance of active listening with their clients/patients and validating their emotional state. They also address the grief associated with hearing loss for individuals, families, communities, professionals, and pre-professionals.

Before the pandemic, Sexton hosted annual retreats for families and participated in workshops. One major goal of CARE is to provide a strong support system within family and the community.

Sexton was named the 2018 National Audiologist of the Year during the 20th Annual Oticon Focus on People Awards, a program honoring people with hearing loss and care professionals.

After graduating from Garland High School in 1973, he continued his education and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from East Carolina University and his doctorate in audiology from A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Health Sciences. During his college years, he volunteered in a preschool class for deaf children. After leaving college, Sexton focused on pediatric/educational audiology service development, implementation and management and served on a team to design the early intervention system for audiology in North Carolina, which also includes the newborn hearing-screening program from 1999 to 2001.

A full list of upcoming virtual seminars with applications, registrations and deadlines are available on The Care Project website at www.thecareproject.com/retreats.

Reach Chase Jordan at 910-592-8137. Follow us on Twitter at @SampsonInd and like us on Facebook.