Resources for Families

There are many community resources available in Pitt County to help children and youth achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

• Pitt County Pediatric Nutrition Services
• Pitt County Schools
• Community Programs and Agencies
• Mental Health Resources
• Publications

Pitt County Health Department
(http://www.co.pitt.nc.us/depts/health/)
Appointment: WIC: (252) 902-2393; Others: (252) 902-2305
Contact: Jackie Sugg, MS, RD, LDN or Robin High, MPA, RD, LDN
Services: WIC: breastfeeding counseling, education and support and breast pump loan program; MNT: Weight management for children.
Cost: No charge for Medicaid children; sliding scale for others

KIDPOWER
Phone: Call (252) 744-2460 or your local pediatrician's office (see below)
Contact: Cara Jenkins, MPH, RD, LDN or Sarah Henes, PhD, RD, LDN
Services: Medical nutrition therapy for overweight or obese children and adolescents through local pediatric and family practice offices including:

• Children's Health Services
• Eastern Pediatrics
• ECU Pediatric Outpatient Center
• ECU Family Medicine
• ECU Firetower Medical Office
• Greenville Pediatrics
• James D. Bernstein Community Health Center
• Our Children's Clinic
• Pitt Children's Clinic

Cost: Free of charge. Supported by a grant from the Pitt Memorial Hospital Foundation.

ECU Pediatric Outpatient Center, Brody School of Medicine
Phone: (252) 744-0766 Mindy Saenz
Services: All pediatric nutrition services including but not limited to diabetes (types 1 & 2), obesity, failure to thrive and heart disease.
Cost: Ask for current rates and possible insurance coverage when scheduling an appointment

ViQuest Center
Appointment: (252) 847-5590 or (252) 847-6329
Contact: Liz Hobbs, RD, LDN
Services: Weight management for children ages 16 and older, Pitt County Memorial Hospital employee dependents only
Cost: $20 co-pay for six annual visits; if receive services for more than six annual visits, the cost is $50/visit

Pediatric Healthy Weight Case Management Program
Referral Information: (252) 847-4151
Contact: Peggy Sessoms, RD, LDN
Services: Works with overweight and obese youth from Pitt County, NC only through referrals from physicians for case management services on an outpatient basis
Cost: No charge for Pitt County residents upon referral by primary care physician and assignment of a case manager

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Ongoing Nutrition and Physical Activity Programs
(www.pitt.k12.nc.us)
National School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, Summer Food Program, Taste Explorers, Winner's Circle food items in Pitt County cafeterias and vending machines, Project YEAH!, walking trails, and more.

Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation
Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation is a program that was established in 1978 to coordinate and expand the use of school facilities by community groups and organizations; to assist in developing volunteer programs within the schools; and to develop county-wide recreation programs. The program provides recreational sports programs for citizens of all ages, including youth, and after-school programs and summer camps for the community. For more information, contact Alice Keene at afkeene@co.pitt.nc.us.

North Carolina "Healthy Active Children Policy"
(http://www.nchealthyschools.org/components/healthyactivechildrenpolicy )
In January 2003, the NC State Board of Education passed the "Healthy Active Children" policy. This policy was amended in April 2005. It requires schools to develop local school health advisory councils, recommends specific amounts of physical education and activity each week and requires schools to offer coordinated school health programs. The policy includes a 30-minute daily physical activity requirement for Kindergarten through eight grade students.

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Pitt County Memorial Hospital Pediatric Healthy Weight Case Management Program
This grant-funded program provides case management services for overweight children in Pitt County. These services enable children and families to obtain coordinated care for weight-related issues. The program has worked with members of the Community Care Plan of NC in Pitt County to facilitate the development of standardized care plans for overweight children. They also conducted a community awareness campaign related to childhood obesity, which included the development of three public service announcements (PSAs). For more information about the program, contact Catherine Nelson at (252) 847-6077 or cnelson@pcmh.com.

ViQuest Center
(http://www.uhseast.com/uhseast/dynamic-detail.aspx?id=4963)
ViQuest, a University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina wellness and disease management provider for citizens in eastern North Carolina, has two wellness centers in the region, one in Greenville and one in Ahoskie, NC. These centers both provide a range of fitness and wellness programming to the general public, including children. The ViQuest Center offers a number of weight management programs geared for children and youth. For information about children's weight management programs, contact Chelsea Farlow at 252-847-6501.

KIDPOWER
KIDPOWER is an ongoing project directed by Dr. David Collier and Dr. Kathy Kolasa with the ECU Pediatric Healthy Weight Research and Treatment Center. The project provides a "circuit rider" dietitian specializing in childhood obesity to local pediatric and family practice offices in Pitt County. The dietitian provides a series of medical nutrition therapy visits for at risk for overweight and overweight children and youth. To learn more about the KIDPOWER project, contact Ms. Cara Jenkins at smithcar@ecu.edu.

Pitt Partners for Health
Pitt Partners for Health is a community partnership with representatives from local churches, businesses, communities and human service agencies. The partnership responds collaboratively to the compelling health needs of Pitt County residents through assessment, resource identification, development of citizen advocacy, comprehensive planning and coordination of health intervention and prevention strategies. Priority areas for Pitt Partners for Health include nutrition and physical activity. For more information, contact Kristen Brooks at klbrooks@pcmh.com.

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ECU Family Therapy Clinic
Appointments: 252-737-1415
Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturdays & Sundays, hours based on therapist availability
Location: Corner of 10th St. and Anderson St. in Greenville, NC
Fees: Sliding Fee Scale
Credentials: Master's and Doctoral level therapists and therapists in training (closely supervised by credentialed faculty); licensed faculty-level therapists
Types of Problems Addressed: Marital/couple, parent/child, child behavioral, obesity/overweight, psychosocial adjustment and management of illness and disabilities, post-divorce therapy, military and veteran families and mental illness

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Stoplight Food Guide (PDF file) Handout that provides nutritional guidance for making healthier food choices.

The Plate Method (PDF file) Handout that provides a quick and easy visual for healthy portions and food choices.

Food Diary (PDF file) Blank food diary to record foods and drinks consumed.

10 Tips to Help Your Child and Teen Achieve a Healthy Weight Handout developed by the ECU Pediatric Healthy Weight Research & Treatment Center

Child of Mine: Feeding with love and good sense by Ellyn Satter. 2000. This book is primarily for new parents.

How to Get Your Kid to Eat-But Not Too Much by Ellyn Satter. 1987. This book is for parents with picky eaters as well as children who are at risk for overweight.

Helping Your Overweight Child. National Institutes of Health brochure. Available at no charge. (http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/over_child.htm)

ADA Guide to Healthy Eating For Kids: How your children can eat smart from 5 to 12 by Jodie Shield, MEd, RD and Mary Catherine Mullen, MS, RD.  This book addresses parental concerns about whether their children are eating healthy when not under parental supervision. 2002.

Helping Your Child Lose Weight the Healthy Way: A family approach to weight control by Judith Levine, RD, MS, and Linda Bine. New York: Citadel Press; 2001. 302 pages

Adventures in Parenting. 2002. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. A booklet that explains how responding, preventing, monitoring, mentoring and modeling can help you be a successful parent for children from birth to age 14. Available by calling 1-800-370-2943 or by downloading (no charge) at http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubslist.cfm.

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