July 15, 2008
Health Aide Casey Matthias of Kotlik checks the tonsils and throat of 14-year old Carden Soots during a June 25 Well Child Training for the Community Health Aide Program held at the Public Health Nurses building.
Well Child exams reach record high
By Tiffany Zulkosky, YKHC Public Relations Staff
The Community Health Aide Program (CHAP), part of YKHC's Village Operations Department, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of Well Child exams since January 2008.
The Well Child program-also known as the Early, Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis & Treatment (EPSDT) program-has been training Community Health Aides to provide preventative screenings for children from birth to 20 years old. The purpose of preventative health care is to avoid diseases and other health care problems.
"We are experiencing a paradigm shift in the way that we deliver care," said CHAP Director Bill Schreiner. "Health Aide training has traditionally focused on delivering care to patients who need services. We are now focusing on reaching out and bringing in children so that we can help patients avoid diseases and other health problems."
In January 2008, Health Aides in village and subregional clinics conducted 69 Well Child exams. The numbers steadily rose to 81 exams in February and 161 exams in March. In April and May respectively, 320 and 393 exams were completed. By June, the number was 570. The Well Child program hopes to have all eligible Health Aides trained to conduct the preventative screenings by the end of the summer and provide 700 exams a month.
"That's 700 opportunities for us to ensure children are receiving services that they need," continued Schreiner. "We now have the capacity to discover problems at an early stage or to make opportunities available for better services for young people in the region."
Level 3, 4, and Practitioner Health Aides are eligible to conduct Well Child exams. The exams consist of growth and developmental screenings; vision and hearing tests; dental screenings; immunizations, if needed; head-to-toe physical exams; hemoglobin and blood glucose tests; and health education.
For a more in-depth look at the Well Child program and the recent successes of the program, stay tuned for YKHC's Quarterly Messenger in September.
