Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida (formerly CHS Healthcare) is the primary healthcare provider for an annual average of 45,000 people in Southwest Florida; 32,000 are children. We have the experience of serving this area for 34 years. Together with our partners, we offer reliable, affordable and sustainable services. We welcome you to our healthcare community.
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what’s happening
healthcare network challenges childhood obesity
Healthcare Network strives to give every child the chance at a healthy life. This month, 25 Immokalee children and their siblings received that chance as part of a new childhood obesity program – Salud Immokalee – offered by Healthcare Network in partnership with the University of Florida Family Nutrition Program, Florida State University College of Medicine and Immokalee Arts in Health.
Participants in this 12 month program are Healthcare Network pediatric patients whose Body Mass Index (BMI) is at or above the 95% percentile. Most of these children have high cholesterol, high blood pressure and are already at risk for developing diabetes. Without intervention, they face a lifetime of poor health.
Every other week for 16 weeks, Salud Immokalee participants, along with their parents, receive classroom instruction and hands on learning built around three essential elements…read more here.
school-based dental sealant program underway on board the Care Mobile
February is National Children’s Dental Health Month and Healthcare Network is hard at work making sure our underserved children are receiving the proper dental care. For the last few months, the Care Mobile staff has been busy with our school-based dental sealant program, which provides second grade students from eight high-need Collier County Schools with the opportunity to have thin plastic coatings applied to the chewing surfaces of the most vulnerable back teeth. The sealant lasts a few years and is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to prevent cavities.
Collier County is one step ahead thanks to this program, set to expand to 14 schools next year, but Florida is lagging behind when it comes to making sure underserved children have access to dental sealants. For more details, read a recent report released by the Pew Center on the States.
tenrreiro joins needle at children’s care north
Kathleen Tenrreiro joined the Healthcare Network of Southwest Florida Children’s Care North office as certified pediatric nurse practitioner. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island and a master’s in nursing education from the University of South Florida. Tenrreiro joins Healthcare Network’s Dr. Scott Needle at Children’s Care North.
