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HOME > ABOUT > PRESS > HUNDREDS OF KIDS GET FREE CHECKUPS
Article published - August 3, 2008
Credit: PRESS DEMOCRAT
Hundreds of kids get free checkups
By NATHAN HALVERSON
Hundreds of volunteers turned out Sunday in Santa Rosa with three goals: Give local children health exams, get them insured and put them on track for a healthy lifestyle.
MARK ARONOFF/PRESS DEMOCRAT
Isai Chi Chuc,4, gets a cavity filled as part of the annual Neighbors in Health program sponsored by Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa on Sunday.
The third annual Neighbors in Health at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center provided free medical and dental checkups for more than 500 children and teenagers, most of whom are uninsured.
The event also provided a forum for nutritionists to emphasize that healthy eating and exercise in childhood fends off chronic disease in adulthood.
Jaime Garcia, speaking in a combination of English and Spanish, expressed his gratitude for having a place to take his three children for dental exams and to get information ranging from the benefits of eating more fruits and vegetables to the importance of daily exercise.
“We are not very informed about these topics,” he said.
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MARK ARONOFF/PRESS DEMOCRAT
Isai Chi Chuc,4, gets a cavity filled as part of the annual
Neighbors in Health program sponsored by
Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa on Sunday |
The event included educational games, music and two inflatable jumping houses to keep the children entertained and engaged.
The children, primarily Latino, were given eye and ear exams, general physicals and vaccinations necessary to attend school.
The biggest group of children examined were those needing pre-kindergarten exams. And about 20 percent were teenagers needing physicals to play sports in the coming academic year, according to organizers.
Doctors also found about 5 percent of the children needed urgent care, said Dr. Kirk Pappas, the Kaiser physician in charge of Sunday’s event. One girl, for example, was found to be nearly blind..
An important goal is to help families find some form of health insurance, Pappas said. Last year, one in three children left
the event with coverage, he said.
“Kids who have health insurance when they’re young do better in school,” Pappas said. “And they have less chronic illness when they’re older.”
Sonoma County has about 3,000 uninsured children, said Walter Collins, chief executive officer of the United Way for Sonoma, Mendocino and Lake counties.
The United Way was one of dozens of local organizations that turned out Sunday to support the effort to get children examined and insured.
“The solution is communal. We can’t do it alone,” Collins said.
The Redwood Community Health Coalition is also a major contributor to the annual event. In the coming weeks, it will contact the families of children who attended Sunday to try to ensure they follow through with treatments recommended by physicians.
Follow-up treatment will be provided at little or no cost, according to organizers.
The Redwood Community Health Coalition, which includes divisions of Sutter and Memorial Hospitals, has helped find insurance for 22,000 children, said spokesman Pedro Toledo.
About 80 percent of Latino children get their health care through the clinic, he said.
More white children attended this year’s event, likely as a result of the economic downturn, said Kaiser physician in chief Dr. Bob Schultz.
“Parents obviously want their kids to get access to health care,” he said.
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