The North Lambton Community Health Centre (NLCHC) will share nearly $537,000 in annualized funding with Chatham-Kent Community Health Centres, to support a new program designed to connect young children with a primary care provider.
The ‘First Five’ program — geared specifically for kids age five and under — will increase access to preventative and health promotion care and services for young children, specifically those without OHIP cards or a primary care provider in these regions, a news release noted.
“Ensuring that our youngest and most vulnerable population in Lambton County and Chatham-Kent have access to quality care in their formative years is vital to a child’s development and long-term health outcomes, and this funding will help us to deliver that care,” said NLCHC executive director Kathy Bresett. “This new program will most notably benefit those young children living in rural areas or from low socio-economic backgrounds, who often do not have equitable access to health care services.”
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.
Funding for the program, which will continue year over year, is expected to result in an increase of access to immunization, healthy child development, early chronic disease prevention such as asthma and diabetes, as well as providing the correct care in the community to mitigate potential emergency department use for preventative care, officials added.
“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,” said 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.”
For more information or to have a referral made to Sarnia Lambton’s First Five Program, visit First Five Program – North Lambton Community Health Centre (nlchc.com), email [email protected] or call 519-344-3017 and ask to speak with the First Five nurse.
For more information or to have a referral made to Chatham-Kent’s First Five Program, please email [email protected] or call 519-397-5455 Extension 1.