As school approaches, an offer to students
Lynwood center to provide immunizations, supplies to needy Southland families
The start of the school year can be another financial challenge for some parents trying to make ends meet.
Friday, a Southland center plans to help needy families. Free and low-cost immunizations will be available at the Family Christian Health Center in Lynwood, a federally qualified, communitybased health facility that provides primary care services in underserved areas. The center’s “KidFest Lynwood!” also is providing free school supplies.
Parents who lack health insurance will be able to get back-to-school physicals, including immunizations, for $15 and dental screenings for $10 or for free, said Dr. Lisa Green, co-founder and chief executive officer of the center. The health care provider offers its services on a sliding fee scale based on ability to pay and accepts Medicaid patients and private insurance. The majority of the center’s patients are low-income, Green said.
For families without insurance, the cost of immunizations can be expensive, which is why some people don’t get them, Green said.
“The exam may cost $125, and your immunizations can cost another $400 or $500,” depending on the vaccine she said, for those who have to pay out of pocket.
“A lot of people that live in the area work but don’t have health insurance, and some insurance doesn’t pay for well child care,” Green said.
Some providers require parents with multiple children to schedule appointments on separate days, which can be difficult for working families, Green said.
“We have seen families with five or six kids, and they can get all the kids seen at the same day and be done” at KidFest.
“If people don’t have the money that day, we can make arrangements. Our goal is for kids to start school on time. We want to be able to help the community.”
Parents will need to bring immunization records, insurance cards (if they have insurance), valid identification and written consent if the adult accompanying the child is not a parent.
As of last week, Family Christian Health Center had 100 kids registered for KidFest Lynwood!, which will be accepting walk-ins, said Mia Cross, director of clinical operations.
The health care provider, which opened its Lynwood site last year and is hosting KidFest for the first time there, has held an annual back-to-school immunization event at its Harvey location since 2000, Green said. She estimated that the Harvey event has served more than 12,000 children over the years.
This month, KidFest in Harvey provided roughly 500 physicals that included vaccinations and 100 dental exams, Green said.
“Vaccines are so important in protecting our children,” said Dr. Madeline Moriarty, who helped provide physicals and vaccinations at the Harvey event.
Before the start of the school year, children in kindergarten through 12th grade are required at certain ages to have been vaccinated against polio, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox, hepatitis and other preventable and communicable diseases.
The center also is a participant in Vaccines For Children, a federally funded, state-administered program that provides free vaccines to eligible children 18 and under who are on Medicaid or underinsured.
The program, which has 945 provider clinics outside Chicago, provides a “mechanism for children who may otherwise not be able to receive vaccines,” said Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer at the Illinois Department of Public Health.
“Before the advent of
Vaccines For Children
vaccines, infectious diseases were one of the major causes of childhood disease, hospitalizations, death,” Layden said. “Vaccines have really changed the landscape. … The vaccines protect the individuals from acquiring or developing that disease, and it’s not only important that the child or the individual get vaccinated, but we also know that the higher percent of the population or community is vaccinated, it’s much less likely that that disease could enter that population or community and spread.”
Someone who is not vaccinated not only is at risk of developing diseases, missing school or being hospitalized because of complications, but they make those around them vulnerable, Layden said.
Besides shots and physicals, fun will also be on the agenda at KidFest Lynwood!, which will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 19767 Torrence Ave. The event will include entertainment, games, prizes, face painting and food.
School supplieswill be given away. Anyone interested in donating school supplies to help with KidsFest event, should contact Wendy Lumpkins at wlumpkins@familychc.org or 708-3395529.