JSHC Timeline
1949
Our Founding
Local speech therapist Sarah Barrett discovers the need for a children’s speech clinic after her practice is unable to meet the growing caseload of children in need of therapy. Barrett discusses the problem with pediatrician Dr. Hugh Carithers and Junior League Member Jane Grey Scott. Together, they create the Children’s Speech Correction Clinic.
Our Doors Open
The Children’s Speech Correction Clinic opens at Duval Medical Center with four volunteers from the Junior League and Barrett presiding as volunteer director. The Clinic initially holds classes twice a week from 2-4 pm, serving four children.
A Partnership with the Junior League
The Junior League of Jacksonville votes to sponsor the Clinic. With the aid, the Clinic is able to provide a salary for a full-time speech therapist and purchase necessary supplies. The League also contributes more volunteers to work in the clinic and assigns a League Case Worker to the staff.
1952
Service in the Era of Jim Crow
The Clinic officially expands its services to Brewster Hospital, Jacksonville’s first hospital for African-Americans, after initially being unable to treat African-American children due to Jim Crow Laws. Therapy takes place in Brewster’s Isolation Ward four-and-a-half days a week, with therapists alternating days.
1954
Merging Organizations
The Children’s Speech Correction Clinic merges with the Child Guidance Clinic, rebranding itself as the Child Guidance Speech Correction Clinic of Duval County.
1962
New Directions
After serving as an amalgamated entity for eight years, the Children Guidance and Speech Correction Clinic elects to separate into two different organizations—the Child Guidance Clinic of Duval County and the Speech and Hearing Center of Duval County, which would later become the Jacksonville Speech & Hearing Center.
1964
501(C)3 Recognition
The Center achieves status as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization under the name Speech and Hearing Center, Inc.
Breaking New Grounds
The Center purchases a property “located at First and Laura Streets” to build new permanently integrated facilities, signaling a new era of expansion. During this time, the Center begins offering additional audiology services, participating in community health fairs, as well as pioneering early intervention speech-language and hearing programs for local preschoolers.
1966
Driving the Change
The Center receives a Hearing Test Mobile Unit “equipped with two audiometers, eight chairs and a small desk” as a donation. The unit is described as a “trailer-office, waiting room and hearing test room with a sound treated booth” that can be used to test patients off-site throughout the community.
1971
Caring for our Veterans
The Center begins providing services to patients referred from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
1974
Adapting to the Energy Crisis
The Center opens a satellite location in Southwest Jacksonville in an effort to accommodate patients who are unable to travel to the Laura Street location because of nationwide gas shortages.
1985
Raising Awareness About Speech and Hearing Health
The Center receives a Proclamation for Better Speech and Hearing Month from the Office of the Mayor of the City of Jacksonville. In ensuing years, the Center will continue receiving a Proclamation in honor of Better Speech and Hearing Month to raise public awareness.
National Recognition
The Center wins a Distinguished Service Award from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) at a ceremony in Washington D.C.
1989
Care During the AIDS Crisis
The Center begins following policies about how to treat patients with AIDS and/or communicable diseases. The Center equips therapists with gloves to wear when working in patients’ mouths, purchases antiseptic soap, and schedules a workshop about protection against communicable diseases.
1998
Facing Financial Challenges
Extremely low on capital, the Center reaches a pivotal crossroads. As part of efforts to save the Center, much of the staff is laid off. Remaining staff take severe cuts in pay and benefits. In tangent, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors mount a major restructuring campaign.
2005
Achieving Clinical Excellence
One of the Center’s audiologists, Dr. Fenja Mattson, receives recognition by winning the Mapes/Snodgrass Clinical Excellence Award.
2010
Engaging Volunteers
The Center begins a new volunteer program. Volunteers are recruited to help with driving the Center’s mobile unit, fundraising, event planning, newsletter coordination, and outreach.
2015
Becoming a Certified Autism Center
Center staff go through training to receive certification of autism care from the International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES). From these efforts, the Center becomes the first healthcare provider in North Florida to earn credentials as a Certified Autism Center.
A Healthcare Hero
Dr. Mattson receives further accolades when she is recognized by the Jacksonville Business Journal as one of their 2015 Health-Care Heroes. This award honors Northeast Florida professionals who improve health care and save lives.
2016
A Transition Begins
At the invitation of Jessie Ball duPont Fund CEO Sherry Magill, the Center’s CEO, controller, and fundraising staff relocate to the Jessie Ball duPont Center, which exclusively houses local nonprofits. This move marks the beginning of the Center’s transition from its Laura Street location.
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