Kids Count highlights children’s health

PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island Kids Count will host its annual “Celebration of Children” on Nov. 19, honoring its community partners and lawmakers who have been leaders in promoting the health and well being of children in 2012.
At the luncheon celebration, scheduled at the Providence Marriott from noon until 1:30 p.m., R.I. Kids Count will share the latest tends in health indicators for children in Rhode Island, according Elizabeth Burke Bryant, the group’s executive director.
“Access to health care is the gateway to Rhode Island’s success,” she said, telling Providence Business News that Rhode Island is 10th best in the nation for children’s health coverage, with more than 93 percent of children in Rhode Island covered.
Burke Bryant said that among the key health indicators that will be highlighted at the gathering are access to oral health and mental health, the teen birth rate and the issue of obesity for Rhode Island’s children.
“R.I. Kids Count covers trends statewide for all our children,” she said. “We will also be drilling down to look at health disparities by race and ethnicity.”
In an unrelated event, R.I. Kids Count postponed its award ceremony honoring Sen. Jack Reed for his leadership in supporting the evidence-based home visiting program as a result of Hurricane Sandy. The award ceremony, which had been planned for Oct. 29, has not yet been rescheduled. As a result of Reed’s leadership, Rhode Island has received more than $11 million for the nurse-family partnership program to improve health outcomes for low-income, first-time parents and their children.