The 2022 Annual CCHC Conference was a great success. Many CCHCs enjoyed connecting for the first time in person and reconnecting with old friends. We were able to celebrate recent graduates and learn the latest information from experts from DCDEE, Environmental Health, Equity Research Action Coalition, and the Division of Child and Family Well Being. Attendees were encouraged and uplifted by speakers. Thank you to all the CCHCs who attended for making the first in person conference in three years a success! View the selfies from the conference
The Association would also like to congratulate our newly elected Vice-Chair, Sheena Butler and Treasurer, Farran Rhyne. Please reach out to any of the Association officers or contact us here if you would like to become involved with your association.
Association Chair Chrissy Wolfe welcomes attendees to the 2022 conference.
The NC Child Care Health Consultant Association and the NC Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center are excited to share that registration is now open for this year’s CCHC Annual Conference…
The NC Child Care Health Consultant Association’s annual conference will be held September 27-28th at the Greensboro Marriott Airport Hotel. We look forward to seeing everyone in person and having time to “recharge and reconnect.” Mark your calendars! More details to come!
We are delighted to announce that the work of Child Care Health Consultants (CCHCs) across the state and the training and support that the NC Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center provides to CCHCs were highlighted in a recent article in the UNC Gillings School News. The article features North Carolina Child Care Health Consultant Association members: Jacquie Simmons, MScPH and Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee Chair Cindy M. Smith, BSN, RN, CCHC-C. We invite you to visit the UNC Gillings School News website to read the article.
Public health in practice: The NC Child Care Health and Safety Resource Center
The North Carolina Child Care Health Consultant Association is a membership association of health professionals who provide an array of health, safety, nutrition and behavioral consultation services for early care and education programs.
Get to know our members!
Sherry Clark, RN, CCHC
Meet member Sherry Clark, RN, CCHC
Sherry received her Associate Degree from University of South Carolina, Florence Regional Extension in 1970. She began her nursing career at McLeod Hospital in 1970. Sherry has served her community as a Registered Nurse in many settings: Southwest Virginia Training Center, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, and Beaufort County Home.
Sherry began her CCHC career at Beaufort County Health Department in 2005. In 2011, she joined Beaufort Hyde Partnership. In the spring of 2022, Sherry will officially begin her retirement and we would like to honor her contributions and years of service.
What was your happiest experience as a CCHC? I have enjoyed not having to supervise anyone but me, flexible schedule, weekends and holidays off, and anytime (pre-COVID) I needed a “baby fix” I could visit a center at mealtime and help feed babies.
What message would you give current CCHCs? Remember, you are not alone. Reach out to your support system. Your coaches, fellow CCHCs, and co-workers are there for your support. They are more than willing to help answer questions, give you moral support, and listen to you vent if necessary.
Any future plans that you would like to share? I plan on frequent trips to my camper in Ocracoke, lots of yard work, porch swinging, and book reading.
The Association would like to thank Sherry for all her years of service and commitment and wish her a very Happy Retirement!
To see yourself or a colleague in the spotlight, just contact us with some basic information. A member of the website committee will then follow up with you. It only takes a minute and the committee would love to hear from you and share our members accomplishments.
Fran Hoover, CCHC with the Alliance for Children in Union county has developed, a coloring book to help children understand COVID-19. The coloring book is available for download in English and Spanish. Thank you Fran!!
Note: When you open the links above or click on the image, it will open a OneDrive space – click on the version that you want to see and then click on Download at the top of the screen.
Congratulations to Chatham Child Care Health Consultant, Dorothy Rawleigh! She received the Public Health Staff Recognition Award through the NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation’s 2018 Child Health Recognition Awards program. The award was presented at the NC Public Health Association conference in December 2018. This award recognizes her work developing partnerships resulting in healthier food, higher immunization rates, and better emergency preparedness planning in child care facilities.
Additionally, the Chatham County Public Health Department Immunization Program was recognized with a NC GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Child Health Recognition Award. Chatham County regularly ranks number one in the state in immunization rates among children ages 0 to 36 months. The Chatham County Health Department achieved this by blending policy changes, training, tracking, feedback gathering, and follow-up with child care facilities.
The NC CCHCA Achievement Award winner is announced and the award presented annually during the association’s annual member meeting which takes place on the afternoon of the first day of the annual conference. In 2018, this will occur on Wed. April 11th at the Friday Center in Chapel Hill. The award was created in 2012 as a means to recognize the important work and achievements of CCHCs across NC. It was first presented in 2013 with Pam Sailors of Iredell county being the first recipient. In 2014, the recipient was Marsha Williams from Richmond county, in 2015 Patty Rhodes from Orange County:
In 2016, Terri Walls from Craven county:
And in 2017, Amy Petersen from Wake county:
To be eligible for nomination to receive this award, a CCHC must be:
qualified by completing the NC CCHC Training Course,
a member of the association, and
engaged in CCHC work during the entire previous year.
Nominations may be submitted by coworkers, supervisors, agencies funding CCHC positions, programs receiving CCHC services, or anyone who is familiar with a CCHC’s great work and would like her/him to be recognized. Multiple nominations for an individual are encouraged. To nominate a Child Care Health Consultant, download the nomination form here: http://1drv.ms/1sI1te0. The selection panel is comprised of 3-4 impartial individuals who are well acquainted with the role of CCHCs in NC. The voting process is kept confidential. The difficult selection of the recipient is based on the merit of the submitted nominations’ contents.
The conference continued with a session with updates and new initiatives from the Division of Child Development and Early Education, led by Lorie Peugh and Laura Hewitt.
The Child Care Commission and their relationship with the child care rules were explained in detail, and a special emphasis was made on the important role of the voices of Child Care Health Consultants to the rule making process during public hearing and public comment. They continued with a discussion of the temporary rules put in place in September 2016 to meet CCDF requirements and the relationship to the permanent rules which will be put into place spring 2017. The tentative date for the public hearing of rules is May 8, 2017. The Resource Center will send a notification to all CCHCs when the permanent rules are published (in April) and details about the process of public comment and public hearing.
They also introduced DCDEE WORKS – a new Workforce Online Reporting and Knowledge System which will function as a single portal of entry for workforce education and professional development to collect, report, and track child care workforce information needed to support education requirements.
Children at KinderCare on Red Banks in Pitt County had an opportunity to learn about My Plate, healthy eating and portion sizes. The child care center invited Kristey Coulter and Terry Quinn Child Care Health Consultants for Pitt County to assist in their nutrition activity.
The child care center provided a healthy snack to children and parents as they were leaving for the day. The CCHC’s gave out information leaflets from www.choosemyplate.gov/to the parents on healthy lifestyles.
