Dec 11, 2024
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The Norfolk Department of Public Health is making sure residents have easy access to learn more about their Women, Infants and Children program.    The department is using their mobile clinic van to reach more people in the community every Wednesday. The locations include:  Berkley Boys and Girls Club (Mobile Clinic): Every second, third and fourth Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 701 Berkley Ave.  Pretlow Library (Mobile Clinic): First Wednesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 111 W. Ocean View Ave.  According to Dr. Annie Williams, deputy district director for the Norfolk Health Department, the program helps provide access to nutritious foods and education to eligible residents.  In order to qualify, residents must meet the income requirements. They also must be a woman who is pregnant or postpartum, or someone who is a mother, father, grandparent, faster parent or other legal guardian of a child under the age of 5.  "Selecting the right foods and maintaining a level of activity that contributes to alertness and responsiveness is something that is part of public health,” Williams said. She also said that there is a disparity between the people they need to reach with this program and those who are able to physically get to it.   Officials hope the van will help bridge the gap. It will have staff inside ready to help residents complete the necessary paperwork to get started and to explain what the program involves.  "We have classes, breastfeeding classes, nutrition classes — we have tours," Williams said. "We help them to learn how to read packages to determine what's nutritious and what's not." She added that last year, they served about 2,400 families with the WIC program, but now that number has the possibility to increase with this outreach effort.   "We knew that with the closure of one of our sites in the Little Creek area that we were missing a portion of the population," Williams said. "So, because we do have a mobile van, we are using that to deliver the services and bring them nearer to the population." You can find more information about the program here.  
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