The East Harlem Head Start program partnered with the Mexican Consulate and hosted a family Health Fair this morning.
Representatives from neighborhood hospitals, clinics, and health agencies provided information and free screenings for the families.
Information tables were set up in the gym and a mobile health van was parked out in front of the Center.
In addition, short workshops focused on topics such as women’s health, nutritious cooking, and health care access for immigrants. It was a very healthy day!
Tags: Children, children's aid new york, Health Care, Healthy Habits, What is Children's Aid
By Moria
Childhood obesity is a serious medical condition that affects both children and adolescents. When a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height, he or she is at higher risk for serious health problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Although rare in the past, obesity is now among the most widespread medical problems affecting children and adolescents in the United States. The Mayo Clinic tells us that the best strategies to combat excess weight are diet modification and exercise, for the entire family. This is the goal of The Children’s Aid Society in New York and its nutrition programs, as well as its vital philosophy of nourishing the child to benefit a lifetime.
Go!Healthy is directed by The Children’s Aid Society and is aimed at combating obesity in children, teens and adults by teaching them about the joys of fresh, delicious and healthful foods. Go!Healthy is “food education” that makes healthful foods fun and accessible for children and families in New York’s low-income neighborhoods. Hands-on cooking, health education, yoga (pictured) and learning to be “conscious consumers” helps Go!Healthy turn the tide of unhealthy eating.
New York’s Children Aid Society also launched Go!Kids in 2003, an early childhood obesity prevention program for three- to five-year-olds. Currently at six sites in Manhattan and the Bronx, Go!Kids will be implemented at four additional Children’s Aid locations in New York in 2009, as well as at eight external Head Start programs. Go!Kids was recently featured on Rachael Ray’s non-profit organization website, Yum-o.org. These important educational programs continue the fight for the health, and future health, of thousands of needy children.
Tags: child obesity, Children's Aid New York City, Go!Healthy, Go!Kids, Head Start, mayo clinic, Rachael Ray, Yum-o.org
By David
A recent study states that the medical needs of 6.2 million U.S. kids go unmet every year. Initiatives to address this problem need to target both coverage and access to health care, concludes the study originally published in Pediatrics.The Children’s Aid Society in New York has not only pioneered health care for children for over 150 years, but also has emphasized that the key to a child’s success is easy access to health care.
Charles Loring Brace, founder of The Children’s Aid Society stated that “When medical care is convenient and accessible, more children live healthier lives.” This may be why, along with support from the New York Times, in1872, The Children’s Aid Society employed teams of nurses and physicians to visit sick children in tenements, establishing the model for Visiting Nurses Services.
- And why in, 1901, The Children’s Aid Society employed the first school nurse in any New York City school.
- And why in, 1906, the first free school dental clinic in the United States was established by The Children’s Aid Society in New York (and why, by 1913, there was a dental clinic in every one of its schools).
And it’s also why today every child who comes into one of The Children Aid Society’s school and community clinics receives comprehensive and coordinated examinations and treatment. The health and mental health services of New York’s Children’s Aid Society remains on the cutting edge of children’s services. Many of its successful program models are replicated across the nation; adapted by public schools throughout the U.S., and across the globe.
Tags: American Academy of Pediatrics, Charles Loring Brace, Children's Aid New York City, counseling, Health, Health Care, mental health services, New York Times, U.S. News and World Report
By David
For over 150 years The Children’s Aid Society has been a leader in assistance to needy children, with the ultimate goal of helping them become healthy and productive adults. Founder Charles Loring Brace believed that by filling the gaps between what children deserve and what life has dealt them, they would prosper. Education has been an anchor of The Children’s Aid Society; Today, Children’s Aid continues to be an education leader, operating community schools in New York City in partnership with the Department of Education.
Charles Loring Brace knew that the role of the education system should provide more for children than the typical education provided in the 19th century; it should offer a community of support and multiple services to the child. The phrase “the child is the father of the man” coined by William Wordsworth, was a popular phrase in the 19th century and was surely embraced by Charles Loring Brace. It speaks to the growth to adulthood requiring a strong foundation in childhood.
The schools operated by The Children’s Aid Society in New York City are open early, close late, and are open evenings, weekends and summers. These community schools serve as more than a place where children attend classes. With a familiar and nourishing environment, children can also receive medical and dental care, speak to a counselor about a problem, stay after school to build reading skills, play chess, work on a computer, take art and music lessons, get help with homework, practice sports and attend summer camp: “school days” that provide a strong foundation to aid in growing to prosperous adulthood. And parents find a new center of their community.
Tags: Charles Loring Brace, childhood, Children's Aid New York City, Community Schools, Oxford Journals, William Wordsworth
By David
We have all heard about the H1N1 strain of flu, the so called Swine Flu, and its possible impact on New York City schools this fall. Preparation is key to prevention, and the 
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