WARSAW — Earlier this year, Kosciusko County Head Start/Early Head Start applied for and received a four year grant to be a part of a joint project of UCLA Anderson and Johnson & Johnson Health Care Institute. Kosciusko HS/EHS was one of just 30 programs nationwide chosen to participate in the initiative. The Healthcare Institute is an evidence-based model that is proven to engage staff and families.

Health literacy is not just about one’s reading, writing, speaking and listening skills. It is also about understanding particular health concepts and knowing what to do in particular circumstances. How do you know when a doctor’s care is needed, or when the problem can be safely treated at home? Most parents know the answer to this question, but to parents with poor health literacy, minor healthcare woes like this can be a tremendous challenge.

This week, Kosciusko County Head Start/Early Head Start will be providing a health literacy training geared towards empowering families in decision making for the healthcare needs of their children. By participating in this training, parents will enhance their self-esteem and confidence thus enabling them to become better caregivers for their children by improving their healthcare knowledge and skills.

In April, the Healthcare Institute provided a two day staff training in New Mexico and curriculum resources for Kosciusko HS/EHS. This week, parents will attend their training in health literacy on Thursday evening, Oct. 27. Parents will receive the “What to Do When My Child Gets Sick” handbook with easy-to-look-up references and first aid/personal hygiene items provided by Walgreens and Parkview. Additional donations for the event came from KCH and Martins.

After training, parents will meet monthly with a Head Start/EHS staff member to discuss specific instances of illness in their homes and how they responded. They will also have an opportunity to bring up questions they’ve had since the previous training. Graduation will take place in March.

The Healthcare Institute has been in effect for 15 years and results have been overwhelmingly positive, including:

• Healthier children ready for Kindergarten
• Decrease in healthcare costs
• Better attendance: child in school & parents at work
• More confident and involved parents
• Less family stress