photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health's mobile clinic is pictured in the Eudora Middle School parking lot in this file photo from July 2, 2022.

Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health will soon begin offering some services on location in Eudora once per month, thanks to its new mobile clinic and a partnership with the Eudora Unified School District.

The health department announced Tuesday that starting Wednesday, Nov. 1, it will provide WIC services from the school district office at 1310 Winchester Road in Eudora via the mobile clinic it purchased using Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act funds. The service will be available once per month to start, according to a release from the health department, but that frequency may change over time.

According to the release, the health department is hopeful the new location will increase WIC utilization in Douglas County and make WIC services more accessible for families who live outside of Lawrence who are already accessing them.

“We are extremely excited and thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with Eudora Unified School District 491 to establish a physical presence for WIC services in Eudora,” health department executive director Jonathan Smith said in the release. “This partnership serves as a blueprint for how we can expand upon the public health services that our team provides throughout Douglas County.”

Commonly known by its WIC acronym, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children assists pregnant and postpartum individuals and families with children younger than 5 whose household income is at or below 185% of the federal poverty line.

WIC services include personalized nutrition information and support, electronic benefit transfer cards to buy healthy food, tips for eating well, breast-feeding support and referrals that can benefit the whole family. The WIC services provided by the health department are available to all Kansas residents who meet eligibility requirements, in both English and Spanish.