A new partnership between the Housing Authority of the City of Danville and the Vermilion County Health Department is going to allow a nutrition program to expand. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children has been offered locally through the County Health Department for 40 years, but Public Health Administrator Douglas Toole says it has been quite a while since services were offered other than at the Health Department building on College Street. ‘’We have a lot of people who are invested in the service, but getting here can be a problem and scheduling can be a problem,’’ says Toole (shown in photo). And having a no-appointment clinic there closer to where a lot of people live on the east side of Danville, we hope is going to make it easier on our existing clients and hopefully bring in some new ones,’’ says Toole.
Starting May 16th the Vermilion County Health Department’s Women, Infants, and Children program will hold twice-a-month walk-in clinics at the Housing Authority office at 1607 Clyman Lane.
Since budgets are tight, Toole was asked how this new agreement was able to be worked out. ‘’We are going to peddle faster and try to work smarter – not harder. It’s going to stretch our resources a bit thinner – but it’s important for the community, and it’s important for us – so we’re going to find a way to make this happen,’’ added Toole during an interview with VermilionCountyFirst.com News.
The clinic at the Housing Authority Office will be open on the first and third Tuesday of each month, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m., with a one hour break at noon. No appointments are necessary.
The WIC Program is a federally run nutrition program that provides supplemental foods, health care referrals, breastfeeding support, and nutrition education. The program is available to eligible pregnant and postpartum women, in addition to infants and children up to the age of five.
‘’The Housing Authority is happy to open our doors to the Vermilion County Health Department for this important service to women, infants and children, as support and education for new mothers will certainly impact the child’s development,’’ said Jaclyn Vinson, the Executive Director for the Housing Authority for the City of Danville.
WIC services will continue to be offered on Tuesdays at the health department, even on satellite clinic days.
The WIC program is open at the health department at 200 South College Street in Danville from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the week, except for Thursdays when the program is open from 11:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. to better accommodate those with work, school or transportation issues.
