The true story of what it takes.
By Vicky Ingalls and Tracie Miller
Today many of us will shower our loved ones with gifts of love and appreciation. This week children have prepared Valentine’s cards and confectionery treats to exchange with their classmates. For Charleston Promise Neighborhood, we have proposed to share our love with our readers.
Love is but the discovery of ourselves in others,
and the delight in the recognition.
– Alexander Smith
While we will need volumes of time and space to recognize everyone, this month we would like to highlight our Health & Wellness partners.
Our foundational partners, Charleston County School District and the Medical University of South Carolina, make our KidsWell school-based health clinics possible. However, it takes an entire community, including our foundational partners, to ensure CPNLC’s 1,700 students are healthy and ready to learn.
Trident United Way/AmeriCorps Family Navigators help KidsWell families navigate the health insurance process.
Teachers’ Supply Closet makes it possible for CPNLC teachers to have emergency first aid kits that include band-aids, gauze, and thermometers…approximately $7,000 worth of items!
Nursing Students from Trident Tech and Charleston Southern University and employees from Roper St. Francis, Medical University of South Carolina, and Trident Hospital have assisted KidsWell clinics with vision, dental, and hearing health screenings within the first two months of school.
In the Fall of 2013, CPN helped organize a health event for Mary Ford Elementary families. Through CPN’s partnership with the SC Department of Health & Human Services (SCDHHS), several community partners were brought to the table. Walgreens offered flu shots, the Department of Health and Environmental Control provided health screenings, Select Health, Absolute Total Care, Blue Choice and several others provided insurance information to families, and SCDHHS invited Medicaid eligibility workers to answer questions.
Our dedicated school-based resources including the Parent Advocate, Family Navigator, Communities In Schools Student Support Specialist, Home Visitors, Teachers, and other staff are all able to see children every day who benefit from a visit to our KidsWell school-based pediatric clinics.
KidsWell health and wellness initiatives are successful due to the collective efforts of many organizations and caring individuals. We can never thank you and our partners enough for all the support they provide to our students! THANK YOU!!
