Kindergarten Health Insurance

We received some good news recently, and I wanted to talk with you a little about it. We received word from Governor Beverly Perdue’s office that Columbus County will be a pilot county for the “Healthy and Ready to Learn” initiative. This program identifies uninsured kindergartners and provides them with free medical care.

What does healthcare have to do with learning? We have known for many years that the first year of school is crucial for the child’s success. If a child gets behind the first year, it becomes increasingly difficult to “catch up”. Every single day is crucial to these very young minds. We have implemented Early Reading First programs at each of our elementary schools to insure that literacy issues are addressed before Kindergarten. We have also provided free breakfast for all students this year; multiple studies link a healthy breakfast and academic progress. One area that is in need of attention is health care for our kindergarten students.

Recently, Columbus County was labeled as one of the “unhealthiest” counties in North Carolina. Poor health does not just happen, but starts when health issues are not addressed in childhood. We focus on making sure students are ready to read and solve problems, but sometimes forget that to a child that is sick, or to a parent who is unable to provide basic medical care, school becomes a secondary priority. Chronic diseases, such as obesity or diabetes, also make a huge impact on a child’s ability to learn, especially if a child is not receiving regular check ups and is missing school on a regular basis. Making sure that our kindergartners have a healthy first year of school is as important and as connected to success as making sure they know letters, sounds and numbers. Our school nurses do an excellent job of identifying health issues and educating students and parents, but there is no substitute for consistent, preventative health care. This program will help make sure that students have a strong beginning on their way to a strong finish as adults. We must all remember that the children in our schools have real and present health needs that must be addressed if they are to be able to learn.

I would like to thank Governor Perdue for remembering this very important population in her overall plan for a healthier North Carolina; a healthier population will mean more productivity, and in turn will assist with the economic turnaround. The North Carolina Pediatric Society Foundation will take the lead in implementing this program, and will be joined by the School Nurses Association of North Carolina, N.C. Healthy Start Foundation, Action for Children, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Rural Health and Community Care, N.C. Healthy Schools, the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, the Office of the Governor and the N.C. Academy of Family Physicians. The program is slated to be expanded next year to all 4 and 5 year olds. This will be statewide community based effort, and we are proud to be selected as one of the first counties to receive this important resource.