Date: Fri 20-Nov-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: JAN

Quick Words:

health-well-child-clinic

Full Text:

Child Health Clinic May Soon Serve Adults

BY JAN HOWARD

Mark Cooper, director of the Health District, said recently he would like to

see the services of the Well Child Clinic expanded to include people of all

ages.

Over the last two months, he and members of the Visiting Nurse Association

(VNA) have been discussing the possibility of expanding the scope of the

clinic.

Mr Cooper said the VNA members seemed receptive to the idea, but no action has

as yet been taken.

"It was positively received," he said. "They thought it was a good idea."

The district's health director said he believes the expansion of the Well

Child Clinic into a more comprehensive service for all ages could take place

within a year.

Mae Schmidle, president of the local VNA, said, while a clinic to service

people of all ages is still in the talking stages, she would like to see it

take place earlier than a year from now.

She said the VNA would like to extend its services for the town. However, she

noted, "We need to determine the cost."

Mrs Schmidle said there were interesting responses to a recent VNA townwide

survey that asked residents what additional health services they would want.

The survey responses are due to be released next week.

Mrs Schmidle said the Newtown VNA leases its services from the Danbury VNA,

and until now the town has picked up the cost for the Well Child Clinic.

However, Mr Cooper has applied for a grant that would enable the Health

District to assume the costs of a nurse practitioner and nursing services for

the clinic.

The Well Child Clinic is hosted twice a month at the VNA Health Center.