Parent Resources

Health and Wellness

Head Start recognizes that every child must be healthy and well nourished to learn and grow to his or her full potential. Preventive health services are central to Head Start’s comprehensive array of services.

Early in their enrollment, families work with Head Start staff to ensure they have an ongoing accessible source of health care-a “medical home.” Community partners help in this process. Head Start assists the family in making use of all available health resources and insurance.

A health assessment and early identification of health-related needs ensure each child receives medical, dental, mental health, and nutritional care, including:

• Immunizations
• Health screenings
• Speech/language screenings
• Hearing and vision screenings
• Dental exams

Everyday at PICA, children brush their teeth and receive nutritious meals and snacks. Referrals and follow up care are provided, when indicated. Head Start also offers a health education program for children and parents. It includes, among many issues, education on healthy and safe practices and habits, and nutritional issues such as how to select and prepare healthy meals and budget for health.

The PICA health program also focuses on staff, providing training and addressing issues of health, wellness, safety, and mental health.

PICA in Motion!
With a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health, PICA works with you and staff alike to:

• Reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)
• Reduce their risk of diabetes
• Increase the practice of healthy sexual activities, thus reducing the risk of HIV/STD infections and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
• Reduce the occurrence of violence and unintentional injuries and
• Ensure the siblings of the children we serve receive their immunizations.

Here are just some of the ways PICA is helping to reduce health disparities. Check the Agency Calendar or call the hotline to find out exact times and locations.

• First Aid and CPR classes. PICA will offer CPR and First Aid classes to you. Classes run eight hours for CPR and six hours for First Aid. As always, we will provide the training in the language(s) you speak. The training is accessible to parents with disabilities, and those with hearing and/or visual impairments.
• Fitness Training Project. You will develop personal fitness goals based on an assessment of your health profile, attend a training workshop on healthy diets, receive one-on-one nutrition training, and workout in the McKnight gym. Transportation is available if you need it. The Center is open from 6am to 11pm. The gym is fully equipped with treadmills, free weights, and other exercise equipment.
• Parent Events. PICA incorporates information on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, safety/unintentional injuries, and the importance of healthy sexual behavior into our many parent training events, including but not limited to our Parent Forums (agency-wide meetings with parents regarding a topic of extreme importance), PAC/Time activities, Family Festivals and Events, and PICA Parent Training Conference.
• Periodic Screenings. Each year, PICA holds it’s annual Health Fair. Activities include blood pressure readings, cholesterol checks, nutrition information, and samples of good food choices.
• PICA in Motion! Increasing energy and reducing fat decreases an individual’s risk of cardiovascular disease. PICA’s new Walking Incentive Program is designed as such: instead of walking from “store to store” in a mall – for some the only accessible place for indoor exercise in the winter months in Minnesota – participants in this program (parents of the children we serve as well as staff) will walk from “country to country” around the world. PICA will provide participants with maps of the world with designated mileage goals for getting from “here” (PICA) to “there” (a country). Parents will then “land” in different countries by reaching the designated walking mileage goal. Whether they walk in a mall, around their block, on a PICA treadmill, or around a lake, every step brings them closer to achieving their target walking goal and thus landing in another country. Though PICA encourage walking, the program will be flexible to allow for other forms of activity if a parent or staff person would rather, for example, bike to a country instead of walk.
• Injury Prevention Workshop. The Injury Prevention Workshop is slated to run for three hours and provide injury prevention training for participants.
• Home Visits. PICA conducts at least two home visits per year as part of those visits, we will provide parents with items for home safety.