26/02/2021
Celebrating 30 Year of Hearing Healthcare
On 28 February 1991 The Hearing Clinic was officially registered by Janet Steer. It was small but slowly established itself as her husband, ENT Dr John Steer, pushed to realize their dream of uniting ENT and Audiology under one roof. Francis joined in 1999 and at the house on Waterloo Road, she found her happy place.
In 2003, Francis married twice. First to husband Rob, and secondly to The Practice. It changed its name to Francis Slabber, Janet Steer & Associates and the following year they thought it may be time to expand. Much like surprise triplets, they planned to open a sessional room at the Kenilworth MediCross, but Opportunity came knocking and almost simultaneously, they bought a practice in Tokai and Fish Hoek as well. A second Audiologist was much needed.
Slowly but surely, the hours at the various rooms were extended and by 2008 they needed a third audiologist. In 2011 another joined the team and another in 2012. As the audio team grew, so did the admin team, as well as the management systems. Janet Steer retired in 2010 and the company changed its name again to Francis Slabber & Associates.
Between 1991 and 2021, the two-man team had become a ten-(wo)man team. The practice had outgrown most of its spaces. Tokai moved into its new home in 2007 and Fish Hoek moved twice within the Valyland Centre before finding the right space. Wynberg was bursting at the seams and moved into a much more accessible house down the road in 2014. The Kenilworth rooms first moved to Claremont in 2008 and then finally found it's permanent home, just down the road from the old rooms, right in the middle of the 2020 lockdown. As we moved around, the rooms became more spacious, more accessible, better staffed and more equipped.
The secret to our success is without a doubt our team. Francis has been around for 22 years with Karen at her side for 17 of those. Elisha has been part of the team for 13 years, Celeste for 10, Beth for 9, Nicole and Belinda for 8, Sarah for 6, Lizel for 2 and newbie, Lameez, started right in the middle of lockdown last year. We are a family. We've seen 11 babies born, we've lost loved ones, we've celebrated victories and survived disappointments and a pandemic. We've shared laughter and tears and we've battled with Francis's incessant need for change!
In 30 years, we've collectively tested at least 60,000 ears and fitted over 10,000 hearing aids. That is a lot of experience to draw from. In 1991 we adjusted hearing aids with screwdrivers, where today, most hearing aids can stream calls and music. The fancy hearing aids back then had toggles to adjust, where today we fit hearing aids with 48 channels and fall alerts. Things have changed.
What hasn't changed, is the love. We love the profession and we love knowing that we've done our best. We take the time to get to know our patients, offer them the best options for managing their hearing impairments and build relationships with them and sometimes their families as well. What also hasn't changed is our autonomy. We have never signed supply agreements with any one supplier, binding us to unethical supply contracts. We do our best to supply the right hearing aids to the right patient, and there is always a choice. The staff are not prescribed to and do not earn commissions, because the patients' needs come first. For 30 years, our patients have mattered most. Some of our patients have been around for the whole of the 30 years that we're celebrating! We honour our profession and our patients and it is a privilege to share our 30th birthday with you.
