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.
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.
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.
On June 7th-10th, Tonya Moss – CCHC in Catawba County – assisted in the facilitation of a Safe Kids Child Passenger Safety Technician Training in Lincoln county.
Christine Rosinski – CCHC in Gaston County – participated in the training where she earned her Child Passenger Safety Technician Certification. Shown here, Christine, Tonya and Juliana Whitaker – CCHC in Lincoln County – participated in a car seat check on June 10th in Lincolnton, NC.
The car seat check was open to the public and organized by Juliana. The check was successful and allowed the participants of the week long technician training to put their skills to the test. For more information on becoming a nationally certified Child Passenger Safety (CPS) technician, click here.
Spring 2016 Carolina Public Health magazine. Included in the Spring 2016 Carolina Public Health magazine is a photo of our very own child care health consultant (CCHC) Terri Walls as she plays on homemade drums with children at Ms. Jackie’s Place Family Child Care Home in Craven County, N.C.
The WHEE Wagons have arrived! Children at Irene Wortham Early LearningCenter now have the opportunity to receive IV medication and/or g-tube feedings from a little red wagon. WesternCarolina University School of Nursing students and faculty delivered five red WHEE Wagons to a developmental day program for children.
Bonnie Garner, RN, Child Care Health Consultant with MAHECand Buncombe Partnership for Children has been providing intensive health consultation and coaching to Irene Wortham Early Learning Center, a developmental day program for children with special health needs. As an advocate for children and promoting a healthy and safe environment, the CCHC was looking for opportunities to support the health needs of several medically fragile children and to help the staff meet the developmental needs of the child. Bonnie collaborated with the Pediatric faculty and students from Western Carolina University’s School of Nursing who have developed the WHEE Wagon Program. This service learning program seeks to provide specially equipped IV Pole Radio Flyer wagons for children with medical needs. The team has witnessed the joy that a simple wagon ride can bring to a medically fragile child, and evidence shows that play can have a significant impact on pediatric health status. The group feels it is vitally important that children who have complex health needs to be able to enjoy the same experiences that other children do, and feel a wagon ride is just the way to do this! A WHEE Wagon is just like a normal red wagon that kids ride and play in every day, but these wagons are specially equipped with an IV pole attached to the front. The IV pole attachment on the wagon ensures that the medically fragile children can have the opportunity to transport the children’s feeding pump or other medically required equipment. Rather than being stuck in a wheelchair, a WHEE Wagon is a more engaging mode of transportation for the children. The wagons can be used while the children play, are transported from the classroom to the OLE or provide the opportunity to be on eye level with other children. The WHEE Wagon program will allow kids to reconnect with the normal everyday world of just being a child, at a time when they may feel cut off from that world due to acute or chronic illness. These WHEE Wagons, could enrich the life of a specific medically fragile child through freedom of mobility and the basic joy of play. The five WHEE Wagons were donated to Irene Wortham, with the belief that a simple wagon ride could potentially touch the lives of ill children.
