The Department of Health will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to mark the reopening of the Women, Infant and Child – or WIC – clinic on the west end of St. Croix. The facility was closed 11 years ago.
The event will be held from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday. Those who attend can also tour the newly renovated facility. Light refreshments will be available.
WIC is a federally funded child nutrition and preventive health program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and administered territorially by the USVI Department of Health. The program provides services to pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum women, infants and children as old as five years, including checks for healthy foods, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling. These services are geared to improve health outcomes and referrals to other health and social services.
According to the DOH, research has shown that babies born to WIC mothers have a lower incidence of prematurity and low birth rate, and lower rate of childhood anemia than those of similar backgrounds who do not participate in WIC. To be eligible, participants must have a nutrition or health risk, meet income guidelines and live within the U.S. Virgin Islands.
More information about WIC can be obtained by calling 340-772-1808 or 340-778-7799 in Frederiksted; 340-718-1311 ext. 3750 at the Charles Harwood Complex; 340-776-1770 ext. 3009 at the Roy L Schneider Clinic; 340-775-5922 at the Tutu Park clinic on St. Thomas or 340-693-8186 at the Morris DeCastro Clinic on St. John.
