Child Health Screenings Expand to Madras

Dozens of families in Madras had a first-ever free chance to find out if their child’s development is on the right track.

On Thursday, Healthy Beginnings brought their free health care screenings to Madras for the first time, and for many parents who can’t afford a doctor’s visit, they said it was a big help.

Jamilex Ortiz hasn’t seen a doctor in eight months, because her mother Brenda Reynoso said she can’t afford it.

“I didn’t have insurance for her,” Reynoso said. “And it was a great experience that I could come here, and she could get all that checked.”

At Healthy Beginnings’ screening, Reynoso’s main concern for her 11-month-old was her teeth.

“They were telling me how to floss properly for her age,” said Reynoso.

In addition to dental check-ups, the ’12-Ppoint Inspection’ covers everything from hearing to development and vision.

It was a big help for Malinah, who’s about to turn 2 and her dad, Cade Cahoon. He said he’s always learning something new when it comes to parenting.

“We’re going to walk away with quite a bit of things to change,” Cahoon said. “Like, we now know we have to take her to the dentist. We still thought she was too young.”

And for other dads, seat belt safety was on their mind. And the Jefferson County firefighters volunteered to help give parents a tutorial.

“Every single station is staffed by a group of kind volunteers and community members,” said Healthy Beginnings Executive Director Holly Remer. “Some of them even traveled over an hour to get here and make sure this happened.”

One of the volunteers said she wanted to make the process easy for Madras parents.

“Because a lot of times you don’t know where to go,” said volunteer Heather Roger. “And being able to have the resource list, and being able to see the other community members, and having it right here in Madras in a school is a great thing for us to offer.”

It gives parents like Reynoso piece of mind, knowing she and her daughter are on a healthy path together.

“It makes me feel good, because I wasn’t able to take her to her six-month and nine-month wellness check,” said Reynoso. “And I’m now satisfied that she was checkdd and it’s pretty good knowing she’s pretty healthy.”

Screenings are scheduled on June 1st in Redmond and June eighth in Bend.