photo by: Contributed

LMH Health's main campus at 325 Maine St.

LMH Health and Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health have partnered to provide a monthly clinic for low-income women and their children to get benefits and nutrition education in the Baldwin City area.

The clinic for Women, Infants, and Children program participants in the Baldwin City area served its first clients on Feb. 11. Starting in March, the special clinic will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month at the LMH Health primary care facility at 406 Ames St.

“Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health wanted to provide WIC services in rural areas,” said Christine Ebert, LDCPH director of clinic services, in a press release. “LMH Health approached us to ask if we’d like to have a presence in Baldwin, and we jumped at the chance.”

WIC is a USDA program for pregnant, postpartum and breastfeeding women, as well as infants and children up to age 5. It offers healthy food to supplement their diets, personalized nutrition education, breastfeeding support and referrals to additional services. To qualify, participants must meet certain income guidelines, reside in the state and be assessed by a health professional as being at nutritional risk.

Ebert said in the release that you don’t have to live in Douglas County to schedule a WIC appointment at a Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health clinic. If you qualify for WIC and are a Kansas resident, you can visit any location in the state.

“If you live in Carbondale, Gardner or Ottawa, you can schedule an appointment at our Baldwin clinic,” Ebert said. “Having this location opens up an access point and reduces the transportation barrier for clients who may not be able to drive to Lawrence.”

Allison Koonce, LMH Health community outreach and engagement supervisor, said in the release that LMH will also be able to help WIC clients get caught up on immunizations.

“Our rural clinics participate in the Vaccines for Children program. If the WIC team identifies that a child needs to get a vaccination, the LMH Health team can come in and administer the shot,” Koonce said in the release.

People can submit an interest form at https://ldchealth.org/519/WIC-Interest-Form or apply for WIC by calling 785-856-5350 to schedule an appointment.

Editor’s note: This has been revised to correct the day of the clinic. It is on the third Tuesday of each month.