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09-21-09
Mt. Vernon, NY
Breaking News
MOUNT VERNON NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH CENTER FIGHTS TO SAVE
W.I.C PROGRAM
We
received notification on September 15, 2009 that the New
York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) does not intend to
renew the contract with the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health
Center (MTVNHC) to continue on-site W.I.C. services at our
three FQHC sites located in Mount Vernon, Southwest Yonkers
and Greenburgh/White Plains, after 35 years of operation.
Instead, we must transition our patients to another vendor.
It is our understanding that the new vendor will be Sound
Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle.
According to Mr. Tim Mooney, Director of Supplemental Food
Programs, the decision was not based on experience or
quality of services provided, but rather on vendors who
proposed to serve a larger population. It is our
understanding that the vendor selected proposes to serve
Mount Vernon, Yonkers and Greenburgh, both areas we have
always served.
The
Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health Center was the first
community-based organization in Westchester County to
establish a W.I.C. Program in 1974. This decision by the
New York State Department of Health will adversely affect
our operation and the patients we serve.
Currently, we serve over six thousand participants and have
the capacity to serve more in our service areas if funds are
made available through the W.I.C. Project.
The
W.I.C. Program is a critical component of our comprehensive
services and provides immediate access to prenatal care and
pediatric services to the high risk, medically underserved
clients we have traditionally served in three of the highest
risk areas in Westchester County. Removal of the W.I.C.
Program from our Health Centers will seriously impact our
operations, service delivery and finances.
“This
simply does not make any sense to us. We serve so many women
and children who desperately need this program. Without the
W.I.C. program available at these central locations,
hundreds of mothers with young children or babies, and
pregnant mothers, will either have to find another way to
feed their children or be forced to get on a bus and travel
across several towns and cities in Westchester County just
to find a program location rain, sleet or snow,” says Carole
Morris, CEO and Founder of Mount Vernon Neighborhood Health
Center.
According to Norma Robinson, W.I.C. Program Director at
MTVNHC, though the WIC program is currently slated to close
in June, new applicants will be turned away as early as this
October. “Because the fiscal year is from October to June,
many mothers and children will be turned away,” says
Robinson. “They will have to find elsewhere to go before the
winter months set in.”
The
health and nutritional risks to the populations served by
the Centers are numerous; low iron, underweight or
overweight health issues, medical problems and low dietary
intake. Child development and improved overall health are
directly impacted by the availability of the program and its
nutrition education component. Robinson says, “A lot of our
mothers are young. They are inexperienced or unfamiliar with
the nutritional requirements needed during pregnancy and for
young babies. Our WIC program helps families find medical
care, and is directly tied-in to the OB/GYN and Pediatric
care services provided at the Centers.”
“We have
successfully run this program for many years and there is no
valid reason that we’re aware of that makes it necessary to
remove the program from the Health Centers other than
intentionally redirecting dollars to another facility,” says
Morris.
For
information, contact Carole Morris, CEO or Norma Robinson,
W.I.C. Program Director, at (914) 699-7200.
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