The following was published by The Hearing Professional Magazine. It was reprinted with permission from Sandra Den Boer, the editor of the publication. The article highlights Patrick Kochanowski (Epsilon Eta/IUP 1989).
Patrick S. Kochanowski, BS, ACA, BC-HIS, began his two-year term of office as IHS President on January first of 2023. His term as president was preceded by 12 years of service on the Board of Governors as Central East Coast Territory Governor, Secretary, and President-Elect, in addition to being an IHS member for 25 years while working as a hearing aid specialist and owner of multiple offices based out of Murrysville, Pennsylvania. THP sat down with our new president for a Q & A session to introduce members to this dedicated professional.
THP: Congratulations, Patrick, on your IHS presidency! You are the 32nd President of the Society, since it was formed in the 1950s. Can you share how you were drawn into this profession?
Kochanowski: I am happy to share my background, but I first want to let all members know how proud I am to call IHS my professional home and I am so grateful for this opportunity to serve and lead us through the challenges we face. I also want to acknowledge those who made this opportunity possible for me. First, the Executive Committee for believing in me and supporting me as well as IHS members who give dues, time, talent, and donations to advance and protect the profession. Also, I am grateful to the previous Presidents who have led this Society before me. And, most importantly, my wife and entire family, who has encouraged me and enabled me to be able to spend hundreds of hours on conference calls, trips to chapter meetings, and time spent strategizing next steps for the Society. I wouldn’t be in this position without their support.
My journey into hearing healthcare as a profession began in 1996 when I responded to a blind ad for medical equipment sales in the newspaper. It required applicants to submit a hand-written cover letter, which was a bit jarring because to say my handwriting is bad is a compliment — because it is way worse than that! It turned out that the company had two-hundred applications, and every cover letter submitted was sent out for handwriting analysis. I received a phone call for an interview on a Saturday, saying my handwriting had matched the personality qualities they were looking for. This call came just after I had told two previous prospective employers, who offered me a job on Friday, that I would make my decision by Monday. Since the gentleman interviewing me wasn’t coming to town until Monday we were at a bit of an impasse. He told me to tell the other two companies to wait a few days, but to me that didn’t seem fair to them. So, I decided to drive the six-hour round trip to him on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for the interview and the rest, as they say, is history. The man who interviewed and hired me was John Beall, ACA, IHS Past-President Scott Beall’s, AuD, CCC-A, ACA, father. And yes, he gave me my hand-writing analysis report which I still have, and, yes, it was 99% accurate.
Click here to read more about Brother Kochanowski's thoughts on healthcare today.