Special thanks to Tampa East Sertoman Carl Brown for providing the photos and content for this story. Article was edited by Sertoma Director of Conferences and Communications Brandi McGrath Kong.

Callie Merrill wanted to be a nurse. She had good grades, and she’d been accepted into the nursing program at Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Florida. She was excited about her career choice and really loved all the medical training. However, Callie had a condition that could completely derail her plans.

As a child, Callie suffered from frequent ear infections, and the treatments she received over time resulted in substantial scarring and associated hearing loss. While preparing for college, one of Callie's doctors identified that larger class sizes could pose a challenge due to her hearing impairment, and she was fitted with hearing aids.

With improved hearing, she thrived in college and pursued a nursing track. However, during clinicals, Callie found that using a standard stethoscope with her hearing aids was painful and hindered her ability to distinguish key body sounds, a critical skill for nursing. A consultation with her audiologist revealed a solution: a very expensive Bluetooth-amplified stethoscope. Callie contacted HCOA for assistance, and they connected her with the Tampa East Sertoma Club.

“Club members were very happy to purchase this stethoscope for this young woman to allow her to fulfill her dream of becoming a nurse,” said Club president Jim Weiss.

Through collaboration with Tampa East Sertoma's affiliates at the USF Auditory and Speech Sciences Laboratory in Tampa and Callie's personal audiologist in Gainesville, it was determined that the Eko CORE 500 Digital Stethoscope would effectively address her needs. Tampa East Sertoma Club members voted to purchase the unit for Callie as part of their commitment to helping others hear. With her new stethoscope, Callie is once again excited and optimistic about her future in nursing. She plans to pursue a Nurse Practitioner degree, where she believes she can make the greatest impact in helping others.

Callie explained to the club that the digital stethoscope allows her to use the collective device in her hand without the ear buds. It connects to her phone via Bluetooth and displays results visually on the screen. The audio is then transmitted wirelessly directly to her hearing aids.

“This digital stethoscope is amazing…. I can finally hear everything clearly and see it as well,” Callie said. “I’m very grateful to Tampa East Sertoma’s help in getting and paying for this device. It really made it possible for me to continue to pursue nursing.”

Tampa East Sertoma Club was founded in 1965 and is one of that area’s oldest civic organizations. The club has raised more than $2.5 million for local organizations and has donated more than 800,000 volunteer hours to the community. To learn more about Tampa East Sertoma Club, visit TampaEastSertomaClub.org or Facebook.com/TampaEastSertomaClub.