Every child should grow up healthy and resilient. BestStart Washington aims to give them that chance.
BestStart Washington gives children their best start toward lifelong success and resilience by working to improve their physical health, emotional wellbeing and academic achievement. Founded and governed by pediatricians, BestStart Washington collaborates with community pediatricians, families and other partners to develop and fund innovative programs that give children the best possible start on healthy and productive lives.
What’s New
Project Nature, an initiative of BestStart Washington, is designed to empower families and caregivers to explore nature with children. Project Nature will enable physicians and community organizations to increase family access to nature through direct contacts, e-resources, and social media. Project Nature targets families with the greatest need. If you are interested in becoming a partner and sharing your resources and activities related to time spent outdoors and to nature, please contact Edna Maddalena at edna@beststartwa.org.
BestStart Washington is committed to ensuring that all children and youth in Washington state have the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We recognize that entrenched structural racism is an unacceptable barrier to child health and potential.
In our pediatric practices, we see first-hand the negative health outcomes that arise from racism including increased infant mortality, low birth weight, increased incidence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES), decreased school readiness, higher school drop-out rates, and mental health problems stemming from chronic stress. We agree with our partners in King County that racism is a public health crisis with many families of color lacking sufficient access to health care and other resources to support child health and resiliency. As pediatric leaders, we have a responsibility to do much more in our practices and in our communities to end structural racism and combat its effects on child health.
The Trust for Public Land Releases 2016 ParkScore® Index, Rating Park Systems in the 100 Largest U.S. Cities The Trust for Public Land Posted: June 20, 2016 “ParkScores are based on three factors: Park Access, which measures the percentage of residents living within a 10-minute walk of a park (approximately ½-mile); Park Size, which is based on a city’s median park size and the percentage of total city area dedicated to parks; and Facilities and Investment, which combines park spending per resident with the availability of four popular park amenities: basketball hoops, off-leash dog parks, playgrounds, and recreation & senior centers….”
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NYC To Require Flu Shots For Children 6 Months To 5 Years Old CBS News New York Posted: December 18, 2014 “The New York City Department of Health has announced new measures to fight this year’s outbreak of the flu. Starting Dec. 31, kids ages 6 months to 59 months will be required to get the flu shot…”
