Last weekend was one of our favorites of the year. We gathered over 20 patient families from all around the United States at our U.S. headquarters in Somerset, New Jersey. While we spent plenty of time talking, laughing, sharing stories and tears, we came together to work—to work on building a better future for those who have yet to begin their journeys in getting Bone Anchored Hearing Systems.

On Saturday, we came together for a full day of design thinking workshops that asked two key questions:

• How can we make the road easier for those who are starting their journey?
• What’s are next things we’ll do as advocates, if the sky’s the limit?

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At the end of the day, we generated over 200 new ideas that we’ll sort and put into strategic plans of actions as a community.

To relax and socialize in the evening, we went to New York City for an incredible family-style dinner at the Library, followed by a viewing of the Blue Man Group show. It was a perfect end to the night, an interactive, yet unspoken show full of sights and sounds.

On Sunday, we gathered as a group to demo new products such as the Ponto Plus and Ponto Streamer. Not only did the group get to try the products, but the Oticon Medical team got to collect valuable feedback to continue iterating our products and put people first.

So, why did we all come together and work for a weekend? Because sound matters.

Here’s what a few advocates and Oticon Medical staff had to say about the wonderful weekend:

“I truly enjoyed getting to hear the other advocates speak about their experiences and what they are doing in their communities. I was touched hearing everyone’s stories and motivated to do more in my community. It was an unforgettable weekend!” –Jodi Sternoff

“Ally and I had an amazing time as usual and enjoyed the 1st Advocacy Workshop. I think you may have heard many of us say that this feels like a family reunion, and it is always great to meet new families coming in and to hear their stories and learn about their experiences. In just speaking with some of the other parents (because some of our children have additional delays to the audible delay they have), I learned about a new kind of therapy that may help Ally. So, I am always all ears to absorb what I can as things are always changing and this workshop gives all of us a great opportunity to connect and to learn from one another.” –Melissa Tumblin, Founder of Ear Community

“Meeting our Ponto users and learning about their journey with hearing loss made me even more proud to be a part of Oticon Medical. I learned firsthand how our products continue to enhance our patients quality of life.” –Diana Barclay, Oticon Medical Customer Service Representative

“I’ve built my career around teaching companies how important it is to foster a community. There’s no company that cares more about their people than Oticon Medical. Weekends like this reinforce that for all of us. Seeing this community meet and come together every day online and then act as a driving force of change and as a family in person is one of the greatest things I’ve experienced.” –Liz Presson, Oticon Medical Online Community & Digital Media

Are you interested in attending the next patient advocacy workshop? Sign up to receive blog posts to your inbox, because we’ll announce the next workshop here first! We got to know almost every one of this year’s attendees through their advocacy on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, so be sure to join us there as well.

Interested in getting your Ponto Plus and Ponto Streamer? Contact us today.