Yellowknife, N.W.T. - Infants in Hay River will soon be able to get their hearing screened in their home community thanks to a donation from the Hay River Elks Lodge.

The local Elks branch donated the money needed to purchase a portable hearing screener for the town's public health service.

Public health nurse Francis Ayward said all newborns are tested at Stanton Hospital when they are born, however sometimes the machine is broken or the infants don't pass and that means they have to travel back to Yellowknife.

"So by enabling us to have this machine here we will be able to do the screening in our own community. It'll help us screen so that no kids are missed. We make sure everyone's hearing is normal, and then it will also save trips to Yellowknife for families."

Hay River Elks Lodge president, Gary Hoffman, said the public health division approached them about the donation.

"And we thought it was really good. And the price, I believe, was about $5,600 and for hospital equipment we kind of thought that was a good price because it was incredibly low for a change."

The portable hearing screener is being ordered and public health nurses will be trained by an audiologist on how to use the new equipment to treat kids in the Hub.

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