Health and wellness are significant factors in the overall success of children in Next Door’s programs and an important part of our educational curriculum.  Next Door’s Health Services has several goals/objectives which include:

1. Ensuring all children are up-to-date on their immunizations.
2. Recording information on health screenings, physical exams and dental exams.
3. Providing prevention-focused health education for both children and parents.
4. Offering general health case management and needed referrals for students.

The children enrolled at our center are at high-risk for many health disparities due to low levels of family income and education. In particular, children are at high risk for:

• lapsed immunizations
• lead exposure
• improper
• undetected vision or hearing impairments
• poor dental care

A lack of conveniently located and affordable healthcare within the community makes it difficult for families to obtain routine health check-ups, preventative care and screenings and chronic illness management information for their children. Next Door’s Health Services helps to fill this gap and works with parents to make sure that all children enrolled in our Early Childhood programs meet medical requirements for participation in Early Head Start, Head Start, and Next Door Charter School

Next Door’s Health Manager, who is a licensed nurse, tracks health data for all children (including immunization record and critical screenings such as lead, hemoglobin, vision, hearing, blood pressure, and height/weight).  The Health Manager works with Next Door’s Parent Educators, teachers and Family Support Specialists to ensure that families have access to quality care and follow up for any health related concerns.

Many Next Door families need assistance in accessing health care services and in establishing a relationship with a primary health care provider.  This is a primary focus for the Family Support Specialists, Parent Educators and the Health Manager.  For families without access to health benefits, Next Door’s Health Services provides some basic health services.  Health staff receive assistance from residents at the Medical College of Wisconsin, the ClearPath dental program, and nursing students Cardinal Stritch University.