Community Outreach

The Center for Children’s Health discusses today’s child

Our goal is to make to childhood as simple as possible. At Cook Children's we believe that all children should be able to live and grow in safe and healthy communities. To do our part in improving the health and well-being of every child in our communities and our care, we must keep up with the health issues they are facing and work with our partners to create the best possible environment and outcomes for all families.

Cook Children's leads a multitude of efforts dedicated to improving the health and well-being of children. We also participate in many others that are led by community partners who share our vision.

Cook Children's provides more than $100,000,000 annually in total community benefits. Beyond the uncompensated care we provide, we also address key health issues in our area. Key among those, are ensuring that all children have access to affordable health care and the opportunity to live in safe and healthy neighborhoods. This is why we've created outreach programs like the Center for Community Health, our Neighborhood Clinics, and Cook Children's Health Plan.

The Center for Community Health, is home to our Community-wide Children's Health Assessment & Planning Survey (CCHAPS) and our community outreach and research efforts. It's the centers goal to create aligned collaborations that will allow us to make our North Texas region one of the healthiest places to raise a child.

Through CCHAPS, we have identified the top health issues affecting the children in the Cook Children's eight county service area of Collin, Denton, Grayson, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise. They're access to care, asthma, child abuse, dental health, mental health, obesity and safety. We have several Cook Children's led programs, partnerships and coalitions that are focused on these issues. Additionally, we have partnered with more than 240 organizations to improve the safety and health of at-risk children in our eight-county region through education, disease and injury prevention and advocacy.

CCHAPS

The CCHAPS survey initially helped identify the top child health issues affecting the children in the Cook Children's eight county service area. They are: access to care, asthma, child abuse, dental health, mental health, obesity and safety. Now, the survey is repeated every three years to provide an update on these issues and to further refine the questions to uncover more specific information.

Community programs and coalitions

Community programs and coalitions We have several Cook Children’s led programs, partnerships and coalitions that are focused on the health issues identified through CCHAPS.

System-wide, access to care is a continual focus area for our organization and we strive to meet the growing needs of our patients and families. Some ways we can ensure that children have access to the health care they need is through our neighborhood clinics and health plan.

Cook Children's Neighborhood Clinics were founded to provide "medical homes" for families with children needing primary health care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate and culturally effective.

Cook Children's Neighborhood Clinics serve areas with large numbers of children whose families qualify for CHIP or STAR (Medicaid) insurance programs.

Cook Children's Health Plan provides low-cost or no-cost health insurance to more than 110,000 low-income families through Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

To address many other health issues in our community, Cook Children's Community Health Outreach, under the leadership of the Center for Community Health, works with more than 275 partner organizations to improve the safety and health of at-risk children in our eight-county region through disease and injury prevention, education and advocacy.