While working outside of your usual office can be challenging, the employees of the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department’s Women’s Infants and Children’s (WIC) stepped up to overcome the challenge.
“We were operational the very next day,” said Jennifer Habeb, WIC director. The Wood County building, which houses many of the WIC employees, suffered from a water line break over the Memorial Day weekend, causing damages to the building and equipment, and all operations had to be moved elsewhere to continue to serve their clients until a new building could be found.
“The staff adjusted to the circumstances immediately and worked well together,” Habeb said.
The Wood County office, which serves an average of 20 clients appointments a day, directed their calls to the Wirt County WIC office, and continued to meet for appointments at the Vienna Community Building in Jackson Park. The Calhoun, Gilmer, Jackson, Mason, Pleasants, Ritchie, Roane and Wirt County offices remained open their usual hours, and continued to meet with their clients.
But with such a change, comes a few stumbling blocks.
“We have been losing clients – we are taking a 10-hour day and condensing it into an 8-hour day (for appointments),” said Habeb. She also mentioned that the facility being mostly one large room can be a challenge, with noise and crowding when a large number of clients and workers are there.
Habeb said the current site isn’t right on the bus route, causing clients to have to walk up Grand Central to get to the clinic, and some road construction in the area, and there are people that don’t show up for appointments because of this.
And while there have been numerous announcements of the new location and new phone numbers, some are still mistaking where appointments are being held.
There have been daily posts on the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department’s Facebook page and on its website announcing the changes and the correct phone numbers, and the WIC staff has continued to step up to spread the word.
“The State office switched to the correct information – they’ve changed messages that go to our clients, and they get reminders by email and text from them with the new information,” said Habeb. “But our staff also puts out the information on socials, put a sign up at the building, and we do our own reminder calling before appointments, letting them know of the change.”
Meanwhile, the other WIC offices continue to help their clients in their local counties, with scheduled appointment days, as well as being available for any questions clients or potential clients may have.
Calhoun County holds WIC appointments on Wednesdays, seeing an average of 6 clients those days. Gilmer County holds their WIC appointments on Thursdays, seeing an average of 6 clients per clinic day. Jackson County holds their WIC clinic appointments Monday through Thursday, seeing an average of 8 clients a day. Mason County holds their WIC appointments Tuesday through Friday, seeing an average of 6 clients a day. Pleasants County holds their WIC appointments on Tuesdays and sees an average of 8 clients those days. Ritchie County holds their WIC appointments on Mondays and sees an average of 7 clients each day. Roane County holds WIC appointments on Mondays and Fridays and sees an average of 7 clients those days. And Wirt County holds WIC appointments on Wednesdays, seeing an average of 8 clients those days.
The supplemental nutrition program for WIC has been established for more than 40 years, providing nutrition counseling, parenting advice, breastfeeding support, food assistance and medical referrals to help improve pregnancies and helping to keep kids and families enjoying a healthy life. It is available for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women and children up to the age of 5.
For questions, to sign up, and make appointments for Wood or Wirt County, call 304-275-3150. For Calhoun County, call 304-354-6101. For Gilmer County, call 304-462-8290. For Jackson County, call 304-372-8525. For Mason County, call 304-675-5279. For Pleasants County, call 304-684-2217. For Ritchie County, call 304-643-4082. For Roane County, call 304-927-4977.