Bristol Speech and Hearing Center has reopened in a better location after being forced to move

BRISTOL, Va. – Following a summer of uncertainty, Bristol Regional Speech and Hearing Center is operating in new offices and providing a full range of treatment services.

The Twin City nonprofit agency was forced to relocate its operations earlier this year because former landlord Wellmont Health System wanted the space near the old Bristol Memorial Hospital site for a planned rehabilitation center.

Wellmont notified center officials in June they needed to be out of the old North Street facility by Aug. 31. The speech and hearing center closed in early September and reopened a week later, in a suite on Osborne Street, across from Bristol Mall.

The proposed rehabilitation hospital, meanwhile, remains on hold.

"This worked out really well for us," said center Director Dr. Shannon Bramlette. "This space is about the same size as our former location, but is a lot more user-friendly. The layout is better and we have room to expand in the future."

The centerpiece of the new facility is a new $16,000 sound booth used to test patients’ hearing. Center officials worried that without the sound booth they would be unable to provide much of their normal services.

"Our old sound booth was much too large and too difficult to move and wouldn’t have fit in this space," Bramlette said. "But the Bristol Regional Medical Center board gave us the money for the new booth."

BRMC is a division of Wellmont.

"We were glad to help," hospital President Bart Hove said in a prepared statement. "We admire the work they do and we know how valuable their services are to the community."

The center provides comprehensive speech, hearing and language therapy and diagnostic testing for patients ranging from newborns to senior adults. They also provide special treatment for autism.

The center treats about 1,500 people each year, including many without adequate insurance. They provide a scholarship program that helps some pay for services.

The center receives money from the United Way organizations in Bristol, Washington County, Va., and Wythe County, Va.; city and county governments; private donations and from an ongoing bingo operation, Bramlette said.

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