Current Efforts to Promote Health for Children and Their Families
VHSA promotes health, nutrition, oral health, and mental health for young children and their families. We partner with national, state and local organizations like the Northeast Delta Dental Foundation. The NE Delta Dental helps place a Tooth Tutor (a dental hygienist) in every program. The Tooth Tutor helps find each child a dental home and teaches children healthy oral habits. Children do better in school by preventing tooth decay. Children are absent less and ready to learn, if their mouth doesn’t hurt.
Parents please check out the brochure “Give Their Smiles a Head Start” . It highlights what parents can do for good oral health care.
Thank you Northeast Delta Dental that sponsored the Race To The Top Of Vermont in Stowe, VT on Sunday August 26th, 2018 . This event is their largest fundraiser of the year to support the Catamount Trails Association and the Head Start Tooth Tutor Program. The VHSA was there to thank the racers who could donate to the Tooth Tutor efforts to promote healthy smiles.
Please watch this video for more on the Head Start Tooth Tutor Program.
Tobacco Prevention and Help to Quit Smoking
Vermont’s Head Start and Early Head Start Programs in Vermont have partnered for years with the Vermont Department of Health and the Legacy Foundation that became the Truth Initiative. We educate and help with referrals to quit resources when a parent that smokes is ready to try to quit. A new concern is the use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) or Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS).
The data we collect shows good news in efforts to reduce exposure to second and third hand smoke. A majority of families almost 87%, reported they did not allow smoking in the home. We found out that 34.18% of the parents surveyed in the fall of 2016 reported they smoke cigarettes every day. Almost 26% had tried using an electronic cigarette.
For more information about this VHSA initiative go to Legacy’s report, Head Start Tobacco Cessation: Partnering for Healthier Children and Families and watch this video.