Health department, Burrell celebrate Glenstone WIC Clinic partnership

Springfield-Greene County Health Department officials and Burrell Behavioral Health on Oct. 3 hosted a public gathering to celebrate a new location for the local Women, Infants and Children program.

Commonly known as WIC, the program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture offers supplemental nutrition to support families with an income eligibility threshold up to 185% of the federal poverty level, according to the release. It’s available for pregnant, recently pregnant and breastfeeding women, along with infants and children younger than 5 years old, according to the program website.

The Greene County-area WIC program is housed under the health department and recently moved to a new clinic space, according to the release. The new location is 1111 S. Glenstone Ave., with clinic space shared by the health department and Burrell.

Officials say the new setup will strengthen the connection between WIC services and mental health care for members.

“We are always exploring ways to better connect our community to the care and resources they need,” said Katie Towns, director of health, in the release. “We’re excited to welcome WIC members to this new space and help those who need mental health support get plugged in at Burrell.”

Officials say that the new location allows WIC program officials to work with Burrell through a referral system. If a WIC member needs mental health help, that individual gets referred to Burrell services before they leave the building. If a Burrell patient is WIC-eligible, WIC staff can get them set up for the program the same day.

Clay Goddard, president of the Southwest Region for Brightli, Burrell’s parent company, said in the release that “there are natural tie-ins” between offering behavioral health care and supporting public health efforts.

In the release, the health department notes that WIC-eligible families “come in many forms,” comprising two-parent households, single- and foster-parent families, grandparents caring for grandchildren, LGBTQ parents, migrant and refugee families and more.

With WIC being a federal program, in the news release health department officials noted that the full impacts of the federal government’s current shutdown are not yet known for local and state-level health agencies like SGCHD or the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. But, according to the release, federal services through Springfield-Greene County Health remained fully operational as of publication time, and “any changes in operation and/or community impacts will be promptly communicated with the public.”