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!

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.

The Children’s Aid Society is working hard to decrease that number through our Health Care Access Program. This program assists New York City children and families with the complicated task of enrolling in and accessing their state provided health insurance. The Children’s Aid Society employs Facilitated Enrollers, people who are specially trained assist in this process and tirelessly help the uninsured until they have secured an adequate health plan.

Facilitated Enrollers are particularly necessary because many of the families in the communities we serve are immigrants or non-English-speaking New Yorkers; the language barrier makes the already complex application procedure even more challenging. Facilitated Enrollers, or FEs, provide culturally sensitive outreach and enrollment services in more than 40 languages.

A huge part of why HCAP is able to reach and gain the trust of many uninsured families is the integral role that The Children’s Aid Society already plays in their lives. The Children’s Aid Society provides school-based health services in Community Schools in Harlem and Washington Heights, in addition to serving the wider community with three community health centers, so that health care can be convenient as well as affordable for New York City families.

All children in New York City deserve adequate medical care and the Children’s Aid Society works toward this goal. At Children’s Aid, every day is a Health Care Day of Service.