Lenoir County Schools selected to participate in Healthy and Ready to Learn pilot program

Lenoir County was selected this week to participate in a pilot program next school year that will ensure rising kindergarten school students who are uninsured with health benefits will have access to benefits through Medicaid or N.C. Health Choice.

“We are very excited that Lenoir County Public Schools was selected,” Lenoir County Schools Superintendent Terry Cline said. “Being a low-wealth county with a high poverty rate, (it) certainly puts us in a needy category that will certainly benefit those students that can’t afford to have their health needs met at their school.”

Lenoir was among 16 high-need counties selected to participate in Gov. Beverly Perdue’s pilot program Healthy and Ready to Learn. Pitt, Wayne and Wilson counties were also selected to participate in the program.

“When our children enter public school, we need to ensure that they are healthy and ready to learn,” Perdue said. “This initiative will help us reach out to more young children across North Carolina to make sure they are receiving the care and coverage they need.”

The pilot program will be funded by a grant worth nearly $680,000 through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to Perdue, the program will be expanded during its second year to all school districts statewide for 4- and 5-year-old students.

Greene County Schools Superintendent Patrick Miller also welcomed Perdue’s announcement this week to expand health care benefits to uninsured children entering kindergarten next year. The program will be available for Greene County during the 2011-2012 school year.

“This is good news for us,” Miller said. “It’s important for uninsured students to have access to health insurance if they are eligible to receive the benefits.”

For the past three years, Greene County Schools has used its family support teams at each school in the district to help uninsured students and their families identify resources available to them to gain access to health care benefits.

“We have helped them get what they needed,” Miller said. “It’s critical for us to improve students’ health care.”

The North Carolina Pediatric Society Foundation will help lead the Healthy and Ready to Learn program in the coming months. The foundation will work with school nurses, physicians, school health advisory councils and local school districts to implement the program.

“North Carolina pediatricians are excited to begin providing care to uninsured children in these 16 counties,” N.C. Pediatric Society President Dr. Marian Earls said.

Chris Lavender can be reached at 252-559-1078 or clavender@freedomenc.com.