The Guam EHDI Project is 100% federally funded and was established in 2002 through a federal grant awarded to the University of Guam Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities Education, Research, & Service (Guam CEDDERS) by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish Guam’s Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention Program.

In 2002, Guam CEDDERS also applied for and received funding through a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. HHS, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to establish an integrated data tracking and surveillance system to support the Guam EHDI Project. Guam received training and technical assistance from the University of Maine to develop the data system, known as Guam ChildLink – EHDI.

Over the course of the Project’s 15 years of operation, Guam EHDI has conducted newborn hearing screening for over 43,000 babies born, referred 513 babies for early intervention services, and identified 110 babies with a hearing loss. Currently, approximately 99% of Guam’s newborns are screened at the Guam Memorial Hospital Authority, Guam Regional Medical City, and the Sagua Mañågu Birthing Center.

Universal newborn hearing screening is mandated by Guam Public Law 27-150.