LENOIR COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - The 1,000th child to get a cochlear implant through the UNC Health System received her ten-year checkup today.

Ten years ago, Tatum Lanier got her implant when she was one year old and unable to hear. Her brother and father have also gotten implants from UNC Health Care.

Officials with the hospital system hope its cochlear implant mobile unit will help reduce travel for patients in rural areas for follow-ups.

“One thing the mobile unit can do is to help patients who may not be able to take advantage of the technology,” said Melissa Anderson, audiologist at UNC Children’s Cochlear Implant Center.

Lanier says having the mobile unit has been helpful for her family.

“It’s a lot easier because we had to drive three hours away from our house,” she said. “So, it

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