LCH Health and Community Services is working with the Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU)’s Migrant Education program to ensure vaccine equity in the migrant student population. Migrant families who have moved to Chester County in the past three years and have minor children are eligible for vaccine referrals.
LCH, with three health center locations in Chester County, provides primary care, pediatric care, women’s health services, behavioral health, and social assistance. With a mission to improve the health and well-being of people and communities by providing high quality healthcare, LCH offers discounted services to families who do not have insurance coverage.
The CCIU’s Migrant Education program is designed to make sure the children of migrant workers have access to educational resources. The migrant student vaccination program supports this goal by getting students up to date on vaccinations required for school enrollment.
“The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is very excited to form this partnership with LCH and the Chester County Health Department to get as many of our new MEP students vaccinated as quickly as possible,” shared Mayra R. Castillo, Program Area Coordinator for the Chester County MEP. “With the high influx of recent migrant students into MEP and our Chester County school districts, we’ve had a really tough time keeping up with getting them up to date on their required vaccines for school. MEP in Chester County serves recent migrant students and families in eight (8) different Chester County School Districts, from Phoenixville to Coatesville, Honeybrook, down to Oxford and in between.”
Students who are working with the MEP and need pediatric vaccines will receive a referral to LCH. Students may visit any one of LCH’s three health centers for care. LCH has health centers in Kennett Square, Oxford, and West Grove. The Pediatric office is in the West Grove location, but vaccination appointments may be made at any LCH health center. LCH has bilingual staff at every location to provide language services as needed.
“One of the biggest barriers to healthcare in the communities we serve is that people aren’t aware of what medical care is available to them,” said Kate Wickersham, Director of Development at LCH. “The MEP is identifying migrant families who are new to the area and initiating outreach to make sure they have what they need for their school children. When they make the referral to us for vaccinations, it allows us to educate parents even further about access to healthcare for the whole family.”
To learn more about education resources, including vaccination referrals, available through the Chester County Intermediate Unit Migrant Education program, visit cciu.org. Visit lchcommunityhealth.org to find your nearest LCH Health Center or to schedule an appointment.
