Services → Health & Nutrition
Health & Nutrition
OCDC Health Services Area works collaboratively with children, families, and community organizations to promote healthy growth and development, and disease prevention in a culturally competent manner. Advocacy, health education and health promotion are at the core of what we do, emphasizing the importance of a medical home and utilization of preventive health practices with the goal of life long health and wellness.
As a Head Start program, our emphasis is on prevention and early intervention, which is based on the premise that a child must be healthy in order to be ready to learn. Good physical, oral, and mental health for infants, toddlers and pre-school children serves as a precursor to good adult health and is essential for a child’s behavioral, speech, language and overall growth and development. As a Migrant and Seasonal Head Start program, we focus on making good health a priority, especially among racial and ethnic minorities, who are affected by serious diseases and health conditions at far greater rates than the general population.
We promote prevention and celebrate health by drawing upon family and community strengths to make good health practices a part of daily living. Our staff collaborates with parents to encourage a schedule of well child checks, dental exams, and immunizations and to assist with the process of securing an ongoing source of medical and dental care. In addition to working with parents, OCDC incorporates health activities into the daily classroom routine with the children. Areas of focus in the classroom include healthy eating, physical activity and gross motor skills, hand washing and prevention of communicable diseases, tooth brushing, and SIDS prevention.
Recognizing that one major health issue facing our families and children is the lack of adequate nutrition -which can result in overweight, anemia, and/or dental decay- each of our centers partners with their local WIC office to facilitate timely referrals for nutritional counseling and, when needed, food packages to families. Whenever a nutritional goal is identified, our health staff works with families to provide the follow-up required. Every center also supports the families with services by a dental provider for preventive and restorative care and a Registered Dietitian for specialized nutritional needs.
OCDC has shown creativity and invention through the development of a Garden Project to address health and nutrition needs. The garden project promotes health and nutrition among children, families and staff and has been successful in promoting parent involvement.
To promote an understanding of nutrition and healthy foods, OCDC has built sustainable raised bed vegetable gardens for two centers with the assistance and guidance from an Americorps volunteer. The project is centered on the gardens and encourages children to plant, tend, and harvest vegetables. Children engaged in gardening, harvesting and cooking activist are engaged in sensory exploration, literacy, language development, math and science curriculum children. Most importantly children are excited about the gardens and in the foods that are being grown.
As part of the garden project, garden-based curriculum is being used to support the important home-school connection in developing healthy eating habits. At parent meetings, food that has been grown in the gardens is prepared using healthy recipes. Families learn about the nutritional benefits of the dishes and are sent home with the recipes to share with their family. OCDC has created a web based “garden blog” for parents, staff and community members to visit to learn about and share information on this critical content – http://ocdcgardens.blogspot.com
Organic, sustainable gardening practices are being used, which is increasing children’s interest in science and nature. Curriculum activities around worm composting (which is being practiced in the centers), plant life cycles and meal preparation activities have increased the quality and quantity of math and science curriculum in the classroom.
The agency’s excellence in this area has been recognized by and supported through community partners. They include The Oregon Garden, connecting the children to the state garden, volunteers from area high schools who help with tending the garden, Al’s Garden Center, Naomi’s Organic Farm Supply, Portland Nursery, Sustainable Shift, and Wilco have all donated materials and expertise, and EcoTrust has provided funding for additional materials. The agency is engaged in a major fund raising and awareness activity to bring our Garden Project to more counties.
An emerging generation of scientific evidence demonstrates a direct deleterious link between inadequate food and a variety of poor developmental outcomes. The research shows that youngsters from food insecure and hungry homes have poorer overall health status: they are sick more often, much more likely to have ear infections, have higher rates of iron deficiency anemia, and are hospitalized more frequently. In short, going hungry makes kids sick. As a result, they miss more days of school and are less prepared to learn when they are able to attend, making the relationship between hunger, health and learning of far greater importance than we previously realized. (Dr. J. Larry Brown, Executive Director for the Center on Hunger and Poverty)
Because we recognize the importance of good nourishment in children, our nutritionally balanced classroom meals are served family style, therefore also providing opportunities for intellectual growth and social development (decision making, motor skills, and conversation). Meal time is a time to learn about healthy food choices and to explore new foods in a safe environment. Children are allowed to eat until their hunger needs are met. In addition, foods are planned to meet the cultural habits of families served. Infants enrolled in our program are fed according to USDA’s strict Guidelines.
We participate in the USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program, where USDA provides reimbursements for the meals provided to our eligible children. The Program’s goals are to meet the nutritive needs of enrolled participants and promote healthy eating behaviors. We at OCDC not only meet, but exceed these goals.
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