SJFC offers health care training for parents

A workshop on "what to do when your child gets sick" will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on November 7 at St. James Family Center in Cathlamet.

The workshop focuses on health care for young children up to the age of five; all Wahkiakum families and other families from the surrounding area are welcome to enroll. Families must sign up in advance and can do so by calling the Family Center at 795-8612. There is no charge and a book, child care and lunch are provided at no cost.

SJFC's Early Childood Education and Assistance Program received a grant last year, along with 14 other programs in Washington State from UCLA Anderson Graduate School of Management and Johnson&Johnson. Their program, the Health Care Institute, trained a team of staff at SJFC who will be providing the workshop. Because of the small size of Wahkiakum County, the grant allows both ECEAP and other families to enroll and extends the focus from preschool age to all children 0-5 years old.

Health Coordinator Carol Carver says that "the families who get the most benefit from this training usually are those with the youngest children. That said, Carver does invite families with children a little older to also participate if interested. Families can have multiple caregivers attend, such as a parent and a grandparent, and each will receive a copy of the book. One bag with other free handouts, such as a thermometer and first aid kit will be distributed one to each family. Numerous door prizes will be provided also. The child care and lunch that will be offered at no charge will be available only to families who are pre-enrolled. From 9-10 a.m., vaccinations for swine flu and seasonal flu will be available for both children and adults.

Attendance includes a commitment to participate in three brief follow up phone calls in the three months following the training. The program trained 60 families last year and can train up to 60 more families this year. About half of the spaces are already filled.

Enrollment brochures are available at SJFC, the Wahkiakum Family Practice Clinic, the Cathlamet Pharmacy, WIC, Dr. Seale's dentist office, Wahkiakum Health and Human Services, and the Health Department.