Provincial funding is helping provide the area’s youngest residents with better access to health care.
The Ministry of Health has pledged $536,723 in annualized funding to the Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres and North Lambton Community Health Centres support a new program, connecting children from birth up to age five with a primary care provider.
Funding of the First Five Program is expected to increase of access to immunization, healthy child development, early chronic disease prevention such as asthma and diabetes, and providing appropriate care in the community to reduce families going to the emergency department for preventative care.
“We know that there are hundreds of children under five years of age in Lambton and Chatham-Kent who do not have a primary care provider; establishing this new program is vital for the health and wellbeing for our growing communities,” says Sherri Saunders, Executive Director, Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres. “Providing access to health care services for children at risk or in rural areas will address the social determinants of health, and in the long run, can change the trajectory of a child’s health later in life for the better.”
The First Five Program teams consist of a nurse practitioner and registered practical nurse at each site who provide services including well-baby/well-child checks, immunizations, developmental screening for physical and mental health milestones, assistance in navigating the health care system, nutrition support, episodic care for children experiencing acute illness and referrals to other community services as needed.
