Healthy Kids Bus Stop to visit West Wyalong
Royal Far West, Ronald McDonald House Charities and Murrumbidgee Local Health District will be partnering together, with the additional support of Aussie Farmers Foundation, to deliver the Healthy Kids Bus Stop at West Wyalong from 28 February to 2 March 2017.
The award-winning Healthy Kids Bus Stop program delivers free health checks and pathways to care for children aged three to five in rural and remote communities, with the aim of the early detection of lifestyle risk factors, delayed development and/or illness, to help the children be healthy, fit and ready to learn when they start school.
The program includes hearing, fine and gross motor skill development screenings, and dental, language, speech development and nutrition checks, all undertaken by nursing and allied health staff. Children with identified issues will be given a referral pathway to receive the ongoing support they need, with links and communication back to community and service providers.
Executive Officer of the Aussie Farmers Foundation, Julia Hunter, says the Foundation is thrilled to support the program. “We are blown away by the response from the Australian people. The Healthy Kids Bus Stop is a great initiative – the health and wellbeing of kids growing up in rural communities is close to our hearts at the Foundation, and clearly an area that Australian people are passionate about too,” Julia explains.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District Chief Executive Jill Ludford says that the program provides the opportunity to connect a child’s local GP with the Child and Family Health Nurse and other local and specialist services, providing a whole picture of a child’s health and developmental needs.
“The Healthy Kids Bus Stop visit brings together a range of health service providers from across the region. Welcoming the bus to West Wyalong ensures our local children are able to access this important health screening program, which can have a huge impact on their future health and education outcomes,” Jill explains.
Registrations for the West Wyalong Healthy Kids Bus Stop are essential. Please visit hhttps://www.royalfarwest.org.au/healthy-kids-bus-stop or call (02) 9866 8500 and ask for John Reid or Nik Dawson.
Media contact:
Deb Gibbons
Email: debg@oyalfarwest.org.au
Ph: 0413 55 4 834