HEALTH
from page Al
But hard truth is part of caring,
say the staff at Today's Woman.
There are no clients at the clin
ic. Instead, the preferred term is
"member." The fresh approach of
Today's Woman stands out from
that of conventional health clin
ics; staff and members say that's
one reason the clinic works.
Another reason is the level of
community input. Everything
that is part of the clinic is there
because the Boston
Thurmond/Kimberly Park neigh
borhoods wanted it there. From
the color of fabric on the sofas to
- V hv tfrp rlinioi
l llC " i
word.
"You don't come into a com
munity with a plan," said execu
tive director Linda Carter. "It is
crucial to involve the community
from ground up."
Though the clinic celebrates its
second anniversary this month,
the conception of Today's
Woman Health and Wellness
Center dates several years earlier.
In the early 1980s, Forsyth
County boasted the lowest infant
? mortality rate in North Carolina.
Just 10 years later, though, Figures
for Forsyth County show an
alarming rise in infant death and
premature birth.
"In particular, the Kimberly
Park/Boston-Thurmond area had
the highest rate of teen pregnancy
and infant mortality," said Dr.
Lawrence Hopkins, an obstetri
cian at the Winston East Aegis
center and the medical director of
; -Today's Woman Health and
I Wellness Center. The poor health
suffered by women in those neigh
borhoods put Forsyth on the
map, said Hopkins.
"It was an embarrassment,"
he stated. Forsyth remained one
of the wealthier counties in the
state, and boasted some of the
best medical facilities in the coun
try. Health providers asked. What
went wrong?
A March of Dimes study
reveals that competition between
some of those prominent medical
facilities was hurting the health of
poor neighborhoods.
"In their battle for patients,
they were overlooking a segment
of the population," said Hopkins.
Armed with a $12.5 million
Medicaid fund, Carolina
Medicorp Inc. stepped in to rem
edy the situation. Community
health advisors and physicians
were appointed to a task force,
and an ongoing Community
Needs Assessment was estab
lished.
In addition'to infant mortality,
the task force identified teen preg
nancy as a focus for the targeted
neighborhoods.
In addressing these problems,
health providers need to know
their population and its needs
thoroughly, said Carter.
"There's not a package that
works for everyone," said Carter.
"We've got to think outside of the
box."
Instead of bringing these
women to a clinic, the clinic was
brought to the women. Located
off from Old Cherry Street, the
clinic straddles the Boston
Thurmond and Kimberly Park
neighborhoods, so members of
Today's Woman can walk to the
clinic. Transportation is available
for those who need it.
Equally important, the clinic
provides childcare for its mem
bers. Children have both inside
and outside play areas and volun
teers to look after them.
The childcare areas are what
attracted Akisha Dennis to
Today's Woman Health and
Wellness Center, who has visited
the clinic regularly since it
opened. Dennis received prenatal
care at Reynolds Health Center,
and she and her two daughters are
now enrolled in the Women,
i Infants, Children (WIC) program.
provided through the health cen
ter.
Dennis likes the homey feel of
the waiting area, which staff and
members refer to as the living
room.
"It feels comfortable," said
Dennis. "The kids get to play, and
I can come anytime. I like it better
dthan Reynolds Health Center."
Shermeka Morris and her 4
year-old son are also enrolled in
the WIC program, which provides
bread, cereal, juice and dairy
products like milk and cheese for
pregnant mothers and their chil
dren up to age five. The program
supplies the much-needed nutri
f.?^>yho has an
But prenatal carets"not only
important for the baby, said'
Monique Ford. As a consultant
for pregnant teens. Ford uses her
past to teach girls the importance
of their own health future.
When she became pregnant at
16, Ford tried to ignore her situa
tion. "It was a total mental
block," she said. "I didn't even
show." A slender athlete. Ford
continued playing sports the
entire nine months. She even won
a sit-up contest in her high school
while she was pregnant.
Ford's fear of gaining weight
drove her to exercise relentlessly.
"I saw my feet swelling up and
I was like, girl, I got to go," she
said. She would purposely show
up to Softball practice late to
receive her punishment of extra
laps.
All of that exercise benefited
Ford's baby. However, a lack of
prenatal care left the young moth
er nutritionally depleted and ane
mic.
"After I had the baby, every
thing was pulled out of me ? all
the vitamins, all the protein," said
Ford. "The baby literally feeds off
your body if you don't get the
proper nutrition."
This story hits home with the
young girls to whom Ford speaks.
And seeing the once-scared and
self-denying teenage mom before
them as a competent young
woman gives the girls hope for
their futures.
"People are very receptive to
me," said Ford. "They're literally
waiting to be educated."
The clinic also provides for
those who are too shy to show up
at Today's Woman, via lay health
advisors.
"I go out in the community
with my socks and tennis shoes
tion," saicl BarbartrWiMams.*4!!^
like compelling people to come to
the center."
Williams travels the Boston
Thurmond and Kimberly Park
neighborhoods, talking to women
and recruiting them into the clin
ic.
Community outreach is essen
tial to the program's success,
because of the trust it promotes
between members and staff.
The clinic serves as a type of
clearing house to direct women to
the programs and services they
need, and agencies come into the
clinic to work with women.
Besides having access to all
CM I departments for their health
needs, women are visited on site
by the Breast Clinic for mammo
grams. Bowman Gray School of
Medicine does testing and refer
rals for the clinic.
The Cooperative Extension
holds budgeting, nutrition educa
tion, horticulture and cooking
classes for clinic members, and
Jack and Jill Inc. works on eti
quette.
For drug and alcohol prob
lems, the clinic refers women to
the Department of Mental
Health's WISH program, and also
works with the Exchange/SCAN
agency to prevent child abusei
The county's health department
handles STD/HIV cases, and
enrolls women in the Baby Love
program. ? .?
Mount Pleasant Baptist
Church offers counseling fotr
women, and Crisis Control
Ministries donates supplies and
money for medication. ,
City and other local agencies
are also involved with the clinic.
The housing authority (HAWS)
helps with recruitment, and th*
Mai tin Luther King Retention
?fo|*
^ducaUunaTscsstoife: Watftr
bics for pregnant women is taught
at the YWCA.
The Junior League sponsors ^
"Read to Me" program to encour
age early literacy, and Step One
offers self-esteem classes.
"We're not just attending to
their pregnant state ? we're,
attending to their mental state;
we're attending to their environ
ment," said Williams, echoing the
sentiment of her executive direc
tor.
The women who come into the
clinic often have concerns outside
of pregnancy, Carter said.
"We've got to deal with the
whole woman, and stop just
checking stomachs and bottoms,"
said Carter. "Psycho-social issues
have to be dealt with in a real
way."
Carter thinks others can learn,
from Today's Woman.
"hospitals and communities
can come together," she stated. "It
takes a daring attempt on the part
of the hospital, but a caring focus
to make it happen."
Dilapidated commercial buildings in the Old Cherry area will be torn down to build housing.
HOUSING
from page AI
cut from revitalization efforts. But
if the Sll million housing and
redevelopment bond passes this
month, new life could be breathed
into those neighborhoods.
Lett asserted that it's high time
the city worked on these areas.
"Essentially, we're still filling
promises that go back [27] years,"
she added.
The $11 million earmarked for
the housing and redevelopment is
the city's second general obliga
tion bond commitment for hous
ing. In the 1987 bond referendum,
Winston-Salem devoted $9 million
in urban redevelopment bonds.
Those bonds passed 10 years
ago began the first phases of the
city's plan to rehabilitate, clear and
redevelop blighted areas. In the
latest bond, $5.3 million would be
used for clearing and redeveloping
the Lincoln/ Maywood and Old
Cherry neighborhoods, as well as
parcels in Northeast Winston and
elsewhere.
In addition, the city's first-time
home buyer assistance program
would receive a $3.7 million boost.
Some of that money would be
used to help people buy homes in
the redeveloped neighborhoods
_^nd elsewhere.
The remaining $2 million
would go toward improving and
expanding rental housing oppor
tunities. The city would build
approximately 185 new multi-fam
ily units, and would continue con
trading with private and non
profit housing providers for addi
tional rental properties.
If the bond passes, the projects
would be implemented between
1999 and 2003.
"There are primarily shotguns
out here," said Lett, indica'ing the
style of a row of houses in the
Lincoln/May wood neighborhood.
Almost the entire street of this
development that runs along
University Parkway will be cleared
and redeveloped. Lett would pre
fer a wholesale clearance but
points out that several homes are
in decent shape and deserve to be
left alone.
"I really don't like spot clear
ance, but there are times when
there are uses for it," said Lett.
National Black Theatre Festival looking for volunteers
The 1997 National Black
Theatre Festival will have a volun
teers' orientation meeting
- Monday, June 16, at 7 p.m. at the
Arts Council Theatre, 610
Coliseum Dr. in Winston-Salem.
? -Hundreds of volunteers are need
ed o make this year's festival a
; success. The areas of responsibili
| ty range from technical to social.
I *
People with relevant skills are wel
come as well as those without spe
cific skills. The 1997 National
Black Theatre Festival will take
place Aug. 4 through 9 in the city
of Winston-Salem.
Many opportunities are open
for volunteers between now and
the time of the festival.
The list of jobs includes box
office, concession stafT, hosts/host
esses, office assistants, drivers,
production assistants, ushers and
vendor assistants. Persons inter
\
ested in volunteering should
attend the orientation meeting
June 16 or contact Sylvia
Sprinkle-Hamlin or Joyce Elem at
The National Black Theatre
Festival office at 723-2266.
*
UNCLEAR
from page A1
used to invest in industrial areas,
downtown and everywhere, any
where in the city where opportu
nities might develop," Stuart
added.
Assistant city manager for
community and economic devel
opment J. Allen Joines hinted
that some money may go toward
the Liberty Street project, but
others aren't counting on it.
"City officials have been fairly
mute on the issues," said East
Winston Development Task
Force chair person Norma
Smith, "though they give lip ser
vice saying they want to get eco
nomic development Smith said
that she has not heard of any
plans from the city to invest in
East Winston development
opportunities.
Some of the money may fund
opportunities identified in the
Enterprise Community study,
said East Ward Alderman
Joycelyn V. Johnson. Three years
ago, the city applied to the feder
al government for designation as
an Enterprise Community, which
would have given East Winston a
sizable grant for development.
Though the grant did not
come through, the recommenda
tions remain in place. Joines and
Stuart have also said that eco
nomic development money could
be used for those endeavors. ?
Though the downtown area is
often volunteered as a potential
development site. East Winston
seems to enter the conversation
as an afterthought.
"I can't blame city govern
ment completely," said Smith.
"We have elected representatives
who have been mute on the sub
ject." Smith said that the
African-American aldermen
need to speak out more aggres
sively for economic development,
or the city will continue to ignore
East Winston.
As for the bond, Smith
believes the money is already ear
marked, but the city manager's
office is trying to keep it quiet.
"They obviously have some
plans ? you don't just pull $6
million out of the air," said
Smith. "How could those alder
men just sit there and let it hap
pen? Something doesn't smell
right to me."
The East Winston
Development Task Force is in a
Catch-22, said Smith. It is only
supposed to review and recom
mend economic development
projects to the city, .but these pro
jects are not coming in.
The problem is that budding
entrepreneurs must have capital
before a project can be recom
mended. And capital is scarce,
especially in East Winston. Smith
wants to incorporate the task
force, much like Downtown
Development Inc., in order to
help fund potential entrepreneur
ial developments.
Smith also thinks the city
owes it to East Winston to "clean
house." -
"Projects aren't going to come
to us unless elected officials make
sure East Winston gets its piece < '
of the pie, to make it attractive ?
for entrepreneurs and businesses *
to come to East Winston," sai{L;
Smith. The urban renewal profC]
grams of the 1960s did not;
include funds to rebuild the!
homes and businesses that had 1
been removed, and many sections ?
of the black community have lan-;
guished since then.
Stuart thinks that the city has ;
a good track record of support-!
ing East Winston endeavors.
"A working familiarity with '
all we have done [to develop the
black community] probably
wouldn't leave a person in a posi
tion to wonder," said Stuart.
Again, Smith disagrees.
"It's abysmally sad," said
Smith. "For years, East Winston :
went completely unnoticed."
Smith advocated offering;
incentives to entice businesses i
into the area. "We have to do a
better job of selling the area," she;
added.
% *
Food for thought? You do the math. j
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And the most powerful computer of all is still the human brain.
But the human computer requires lots of power. Research
shows that kids who eat well perform better in the classroom and
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math class, and every other class, too. Students who regularly eat
balanced, nutritious meals simply learn better.
Convenient, economical, healthy School Meals. When you
crunch the numbers, they add up to educational success!
North Carolina's Child Nutrition Programs
1