Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Worley.
Hi Rachel , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
On an early spring day in the desert of Tucson, Arizona, a teenage girl, accompanied by her mother, went to have her hearing evaluated for the last time before getting her first set of hearing aids. Her whole life she had wondered why people utilized whispers since they seemed very ineffective.
Now, in those days, digital hearing aids had just recently come out, and it was thought that no one would ever have to wear a hearing aid BEHIND their ear again because of how great the hearing aid designers had become at fitting hearing aid components inside the shape of someone’s ear. (Silly thinking because that would soon change in a major way!)
No matter that her “little” hearing aids looked like bulging cashews hanging out in her ears, that teenage girl was amazed at how she could hear a plate set on the counter and the tap of the family dog’s toenails on the sidewalk going to get the mail. And although she certainly did not consider herself a singer (yet anyway, thank you hearing aids), the way she could hear her own voice like she was a rockstar with custom monitors was crazy exciting! For better or for worse, that effect faded and her voice just sounded normal after a while, but the girl’s love for hearing loss care only continued to grow!
That first year with hearing aids she studied and passed a state licensing exam to become a hearing aid dispenser. She did this all the way through University undergrad and later attended the doctorate program for Audiology.
After all was said and done, she landed in South Carolina since a short visit to Hartsville was all it took to fall in love with the town. Then she fell in love again a few years later and got married and dug some more Hartsville roots.
In 2020, recognizing the limited options available to her beloved town, but having just become a mother, she decided to trust the Lord with the doors of opportunity opening for her and started something new for Hartsville and neighboring areas.
Empire Audiology was born.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It was wonderful at first and easy being just part time seeing veterans. Didn’t need any additional help, database systems, point of sale system, or even anything beyond a cell phone. But that wasn’t full-service audiology and more was needed. So, I embraced the complexity of a renovation into more space, hiring someone for the first time, getting a phone line, extra computers, more equipment, and marketing attempts! The hardest part I discovered was the challenge to find and hire another audiologist, or even a licensed hearing instrument specialist. The demands of being a single provider, business owner, and mom to two littles had become too much but the pool of candidates was quite small. It took years to finally find qualified help interested in joining the practice and that just became a reality this week, in fact.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We are a Private Practice Audiology Clinic in Hartsville, SC existing to bring comprehensive hearing healthcare to our rural community and neighbors for all ages. We test hearing and all the related things. Best practices, high end technology, veteran services, baby testing, accessible hearing aid options, tinnitus help, earwax removal and aural rehabilitation. Rural, but royal is what we are proud of!
What sets us apart is being independent audiologists, not owned by any manufacturer. We can utilize any hearing aid brand, and we never use locked devices (i.e. Beltone, Miracle Ear) that keep patients locked out of seeking a second opinion for help. As the only two audiologists who reside in our town, we can service children and offer specialty services, like newborn hearing testing, care for students in a nearby school district and on-site visits for adults with special needs living in a residential facility.
What really is a hidden gem for those who find us is our transparent pricing, and the quality of best practice care we deliver while typically saving patients $2000-$4000. We wish we could say that was comparing apples to apples for service, quality, and technology used but it’s not; we exceed the others in those ways too.
We want folks to know that we’re happy to work with devices they have acquired elsewhere, even older units, give a second opinion, do a comprehensive communication needs assessment, talk about something more appropriate, or discuss surgical options instead…we want the best outcome for you, even if it’s not the best for us (but usually it’s perfectly symbiotic!) Just as an example, we give helpful counsel and advice to many veterans who come for a single visit who we are likely to never see again because of the distance they traveled.
The flexibility of being a private practice allows us to really customize things to individuals and take an active part in our community. We can go out of our way to get something taken care of (once our Audiology Assistant who is now our Office Manager drove to another town to deliver something to a patient from an out of state clinic who was visiting our area!) We also celebrate the journey with our patients in a personalized way, getting them a graduation gift when they complete their initial phase of hearing aid use.
Our request would be that you please let us see if we’re the solution to your dilemma, whatever it is, before you choose to try elsewhere! We’re just a phone call away and a live person always answers!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I like to consider myself a fearless risk taker. Of course, I am responsible with my choices but if it’s a worthwhile goal it’s worth the risk. I use the motto, “What’s the worst that could happen? Nothing that you can’t move past” Or, I just keep a little “If all else fails…” plan B tucked in my back pocket. There has to be risks to make gains. Lay those fears aside and know that even if you don’t accomplish Everything on your goal list, the list got shorter and you accomplished a lot more than you probably would have otherwise. Since there’s been a lot of learning as I go and I still have far to go, I like to comfort myself that I am hopefully doing some Good on my way to doing some Great! And that’s something to be proud of.
Pricing:
- Probably the best pricing around
- Can save in the long run with some special offers we offer existing patients
- Advanced hearing aids as low as $750
- Free care is possible through our relationships with different organizations
- We work directly with manufacturers to get the best deals
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.empireaudiology.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057676800185
