FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 28, 2020

#PublicHealthIsHere4U

MEDIA SERIES DESIGNED TO HIGHLIGHT LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH EFFORTS

New City, NY, - Rockland County Executive Ed Day and County Health Commissioner Dr. Patricia Schnabel Ruppert announce the latest update to the #PublicHealthIsHere4U media series, which highlights local COVID-19 public health efforts that are keeping our community safe. The series highlights county employees and volunteers that have come together to help battle this disease through the implementation of public health measures.

Today's #PublicHealthIsHere4U update features the essential public health role of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program and how the staff have continued to provide vital benefits to mothers and their young children. WIC is a federally funded program that is managed by the Rockland County Department of Health (RCDOH) and provides many benefits to income eligible families with children under the age of 5. Some of these benefits include specific nutritious foods to purchase at grocery stores, nutrition education/counseling, promotion of a healthy lifestyle, breastfeeding support, and referrals to other programs. As another benefit of the program, the RCDOH WIC program employs Qualified Nutritionists, RDs (Registered Dietitian), CLCs (Certified Lactation Consultant), IBCLCs (International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant) as well as support staff.

Laura Leach has coordinated the local WIC program for the past 14 years. She is a registered dietitian (RD) and has extensive experience with the WIC program. She oversees the 5 sites in Rockland located in Haverstraw, Monsey, New Square, Nyack, and Spring Valley by assuring NYS WIC policies and procedures are followed.

"There is a need for the WIC program now more than any other time in my 21-year career working for the program. Proper nutrition is extremely important for everyone, but pregnant women, infants, and children experience tremendous growth and development and require nutrients to support this. With many families facing financial hardship, the need for food, preferably healthy food, has increased," said Laura Leach.

The WIC program quickly adapted and responded to the COVID-19 crisis by altering the way it conducts business. Before the pandemic, face-to-face services were provided for between 100-200 families a day. For some appointments, participants were required to bring in their infants or children for assessment and to obtain physical measurements to monitor growth. "As the first cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the County, it was clear that having many participants and children at our sites would not be safe. A COVID-19 implementation plan was developed locally and approved by the state that ensured WIC participants would continue to receive their benefits while keeping them at home," said Laura Leach. Since then, the 17 WIC staff provide most WIC services over the phone.

In an effort to keep staff safe, instead of rotating to different sites, four of the WIC locations are now open five days a week. This has helped to ensure physical distancing among staff and efficient workflow during these challenging times. "The WIC staff have been making tremendous efforts to contact all scheduled participants, manage new participants, and implementing safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. If it is necessary to provide a WIC participant with an item, such as a breast pump, we ask the participant to wait out front and bring the item to them," said Laura Leach.

Since this crisis began, Laura has seen an increase in WIC participation, both new and returning participants. "It takes a lot of added effort to make sure that all participants are receiving benefits. WIC staff adjusted very quickly and efficiently to meet this new demand. For the past few weeks, we are consistently issuing over 200 individual benefits daily. This number may have been true for some days prior to the pandemic but not every day," said Laura Leach.

"I am pleased to be able to continue providing services to families that are already struggling to meet their daily food needs; especially seeing more people applying or returning for WIC services due to the increased loss of family income. WIC is still here proving food benefits, nutrition, breastfeeding support, and other referrals as needed," said Maria Robles, a WIC Qualified Nutritionist and IBCLC.

Many participants have expressed their appreciation and gratitude to staff for their continued work and effort during these times. "I am very lucky that I work with a great group of individuals that recognize their role as an essential worker. Everyone works together as a team to deliver services and support each other. The WIC staff are dedicated to promoting health and wellness to ensure that the children of our community flourish," said Laura Leach.

For more information on WIC income guidelines, locations, or to see if you qualify, call 845-364-2577 or visit https://bit.ly/RocklandWIC.

For local COVID-19 information and resources, visit the county's coronavirus (COVID-19) webpage at http://rcklnd.us/covid19 or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/rockhealth or Twitter at www.twitter.com/rockhealth for more information.

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