The Worcester State University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic located in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department has a long history on this campus of serving both the campus and greater Worcester communities. We have achieved a well-earned respect for the high quality of prevention, assessment, and intervention services that we provide both on campus and in the community. Since the late 1970s, members of the WSU community have enjoyed free or reduced services including hearing testing, speech and language therapy, as well as speech and language assessments for themselves and their family members.
Just as WSC recently changed its name to WSU to reflect its true status, the approval was recently given to change name of the Worcester State University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic to the Worcester State University Speech-Language-Hearing Center [1] to reflect our true nature and status.
The word “clinic” implies a place in connection with a hospital that is strictly for remediation of specific diseases or disabilities (as in “Orthopedic Clinic”). The use of the term “Clinic” to describe our multiple services is outdated. In reality, we accomplish many tasks, including prevention and maintenance. In addition, we work with individuals with speech-language differences, including accent reduction, and work in partnership with the WSU Intensive English Language Institute. Thus, the word “Center” as our title is more inclusive and reflects our more inclusive mission.
Members of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department [2] hope that the name change will help the general public and the WSU campus understand the services that we provide. The WSU Speech-Language-Hearing Center provides a variety of services in an all-inclusive facility to meet the communicative needs of individuals of all ages along with their family members.