Phillips Children’s Medical Services offered free screening for children in the Tallahassee area on Friday. This event focused on educating parents about why children ages 0-5 need to be screened
Mayor Andrew Gillum and Whole Child Leon partnered with Phillips Children’s Medical Services to offer free screening to hopefully educate the community and parents about the importance of early screening and early detection.
This is screening that will cover several areas that include: Developmental Delays, Vision, Hearing, Motor Skills, Speech, Language, Cognitive Behavior, Growth, Dental and Mental screens were offered all day. All screens were free and there is nothing of this kind in the Big Bend area.
Providers came together and volunteered their time to help create the comprehensive screening. There were more than 100 volunteers on site.
Courtney Atkins, executive director of Whole Child Leon said that continual screenings are important for children.
“A lot of times parents may screen their children once and not realize it is important to screen your children on a yearly basis,” she stated.
Mayor Andrew Gillum was also in attendance with his 18-month-old son participating in the screening.
“We are here highlighting a really important issue which is advance in early screenings for our communities kids between the ages of 0-5, which are the most rapid stages of development of a human,” he stated.
Florida State University’s College of Nursing students came out to support and volunteer their time to the screenings being held.
Erin Smithies a fourth-year nursing student at FSU was in attendance as a volunteer.
“It has been an easy process so far and you can tell it’s really easy for the families with such a welcoming relaxing environment with a lot of help,” she said.
For details on this event or to get your child screened please call 850-487-2630 or go online at http://fdlrsmicco.org/community-screening.