Over 2,600 Blount County students have received free KidCheck health screenings this semester thanks to the Wallace State-Hanceville nursing program. KidCheck is a model school-based health screening program that began in Blount and Bibb Counties and is now being expanded to any interested school system.  Wallace State serves more than 4,000 students annually as part of this initiative.

Blount County Schools have partnered with Wallace’s School of Nursing, which will provide more than 65 students to administer the screenings. Each nursing student conducts a full assessment on each child.

Any student with a parental permission form qualifies for the screening. After the screenings, parents receive a report and assistance for children needing additional care. Those who are uninsured and are not enrolled in private insurance or eligible for Medicaid or All Kids will be covered through the Alabama Child Caring Foundation.

Wallace State was recognized at a ceremony held in Birmingham.

“When children are sick they do not learn,” said  Wallace nursing instructor Glynda Hardin at the ceremony. “That idea has been a driving force behind our role as a Department of Nursing Education and participation in KidCheck.”