The Early Childhood Advisory Committee of the Governor’s Children and Families Council in partnership with government and non-profit agencies will host their third free Children’s Health and Wellness Fair on St. Croix at 9 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 9, at the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital Cardiac Center. The event will continue on St. Thomas on Friday, Nov. 16, at the Sugar Estate Head Start Complex, according to a press release issued Monday by the Governor’s Children and Families Council.
Entitled “Healthy Children Are Happy Children, Help Your Young Child Stay Healthy!” the half-day fair serves as a one-stop facility for parents and caregivers who would otherwise need to visit multiple locations to receive medical screenings and care for their child.
Service providers will conduct various pediatric medical services for children age birth to five who are not in regular licensed child care facilities or Head Start or who are not able to schedule regular physicals for their children. Some of the services include dental screenings, vision and hearing screening, and medical check-ups, flu shots and review of records for immunizations.
The Department of Education’s Special Education Program and the Birth to Three Division of the Department of Health will also offer CHILD FIND, the annual screening focused on identifying children with developmental delays. Parents are welcome to find out about and sign up for the Women, Infants and Children program (WIC), the State Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Childcare and Head Start. Free books and healthy snacks will be provided.
The health fairs have collectively served 122 children territory-wide since its inauguration in 2011. Of the services provided many children were recommended for additional developmental screenings or health follow-up. District Coordinator of Special Education and one of the event organizers Maureen Moorehead said “The [Children’s] Health fair achieved our objective of providing free health and developmental screening to young children who have limited access to these services in an effort to catch children with potential problems as early as possible.”
Volunteers are needed to escort children and parents through the maze of services and are invited to attend training from 1-3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 8 at the V.I. Cardiac Center on St. Croix. Training on St. Thomas is scheduled for 1-3 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Head Start center in Sugar Estate.
Participating agencies include the Departments of Human Services, Health and Education, Frederiksted Health Care, Inc., The Family Connection of the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands, and Virgin Islands Partners for Healthy Community.