Child Health & Wellness

Welcome to the Office of Child Health & Wellness!

Our primary mission is to protect the health of your children by administering timely, recommended immunizations.

Services are for children without health insurance coverage. Age appropriate immunizations and screenings for anemia and lead poisoning are provided to children aged 2 months to 6 years at no cost to the family. Children, grades K through 12, receive immunizations required to attend school.
Appointments are available weekly at 2 different locations:

Gloucester County Department of Health, Offices @ East Holly
204 East Holly Avenue
Sewell, NJ
Tuesdays, 8:30 AM - 3 PM
Thursdays, 8:30 AM - 12 PM

Gloucester County Department of Health, Offices @ Paulsboro Health Center
1000 Delaware Street
Paulsboro, NJ
1st & 3rd Mondays
8:30 AM - 12:00 PM

To make an appointment or for more information call the office for Child Health and Wellness at (856) 218-4127

What to Expect at Your Clinic Visit

Who can bring my child?

Children must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian (who must show proof of guardianship). If a parent or guardian cannot be present at the time of a scheduled visit, they must make arrangements ahead of time to ensure the process we require is complete by calling us at: 856-218-4127.

Do I need a shot record for my child?

Documentation of all previous vaccinations must be presented upon initial visit. These can most often be obtained from previous healthcare providers, school records (dependent upon child’s age) or the NJ Immunization Information System (a shared website for healthcare providers to document immunizations). An immunization history is needed in order to determine what vaccines are needed at time of visit.
Proof of immunization(s) given by the Health Dept. will be provided at time of visit.
The Gloucester County Department of Health is a participant of the NJIIS; all immunizations given are updated in the NJ database where it can be easily accessed by other healthcare providers when needed.

Will there be any fees associated with my visit?

There is no charge for your child’s visit.

What else do I need to know?

Be prepared to answer questions regarding your child’s health and immunization history.

Child Development & Milestones¹

Every child grows and develops at his or her own pace. Still, child development tends to follow a fairly predictable path. Check out this child development chart for milestones from ages 2 to 5. If your child's development seems to be lagging behind in certain areas, share your concerns with your child's doctor.

Age 2	Age 3	Age 4	Age 5
Language Skills
Speaks about 50 words	Speaks 250 to 500 or more words	Answers simple questions	Understands rhyming
Links two words together	Speaks in three-and four-word sentences	Speaks in complete sentences	Uses compound and complex sentences
Uses some adjectives (big, happy)	Uses pronouns (I, you, we, they) and some plurals	Uses prepositions (under, beside, in front)	Uses future tense
Speaks clearly enough for parents to understand some of the words	States first name	Speaks clearly enough for strangers to understand	States full name and address
Social Skills
Becomes aware of his or her identity as a separate individual	Imitates parents and playmates	Cooperates with playmates	Wants to be like friends
May become defiant	Takes turns	Tries to solve problems	Follows rules
Becomes interested in playing with other children	Expresses affection openly	May have a best friend	Understands gender
Separation anxiety begins to fade	Easily separates from parents	Becomes more independent	Wants to do things alone
Cognitive Skills
Begins to play make-believe	Asks "why" questions	Becomes involved in more complex imaginary play	Uses imagination to create stories
Begins to sort objects by shape and color	Correctly names some colors	Prints some capital letters	Correctly counts 10 or more objects
Scribbles	Copies a circle	Draws a person with two to four body parts	Copies a triangle and other geometric patterns
Finds hidden objects	Understands the concepts of same and different	Understands the concepts of morning, afternoon and night	Understands the concepts of time and sequential order
Physical Skills
Walks alone and stands on tiptoe	Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet	Stands on one foot for at least five seconds	Stands on one foot for at least 10 seconds
Climbs on furniture and begins to run	Kicks, climbs, runs and pedals a tricycle	Throws ball overhand, kicks ball forward and catches bounced ball most of the time	Hops, swings and somersaults
Builds a tower of six or more blocks	Builds a tower of nine or more blocks	Dresses and undresses	May learn to ride a bike and swim
Empties objects from a container	Manipulates small objects and turns book pages one at a time	Uses scissors	Brushes own teeth and cares for other personal needs

¹Mayo Clinic “Child development chart: Preschool milestones” Mayo Clinic Child Development

Other milestones can be found for infants at the CDC’s Parenting Center at http://www.cdc.gov/parents/infants/milestones.html

The Southern NJ Perinatal Cooperative conducts the Early Intervention Program for families of children with developmental delays. For more information on Early Intervention or to learn more about other programs offered for pregnant women and families go to their website http://www.snjpc.org/ or call (856) 665-6000
Acenda Integrated Health offers a wide variety of services to young women and families. For more information go to their website https://acendahealth.org/ or call: 844-4-ACENDA

Important Resources

Collection of vaccination resources for parents to make informed decisions about vaccinating your child
www.vaccinateyourbaby.org/

Fact sheets for all vaccines in multiple languages
www.immunize.org/VIS/

Health and safety tips for the whole family
www.cdc.gov/family/

NJDOH Vaccine Preventable Disease Program
http://www.nj.gov/health/cd/vpdp.shtml

Parenting resources and healthful tips for parents
www.cdc.gov/Parents/

Teen Pregnancy Prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/teenpregnancy/

Updated Vaccine Schedules
http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/schedules/hcp/imz/child-adolescent.html

Lead and Your Child

All children are at risk for lead poisoning

Gloucester County Department of Health offers free blood lead testing for any child age 1-6 years.

Call 856-218-4127 to make an appointment

Our offices are located at 204 East Holly Ave. Sewell, NJ 08080

What is lead poisoning?

A serious but preventable health problem
Lead is easily absorbed into the body
Children under the age of 6 and pregnant women are at greatest risk
Even children who seem healthy may have high levels of lead in their blood

Why is lead harmful?

Lead can harm your child’s growing brain and nervous system.
Lead may cause learning and behavior problems.
The longer your child is exposed to lead, the more damage it can cause.

Where does lead come from?

Lead is a heavy metal that is found naturally in our earth.
The most common source of lead is old paint and leaded dust and soil. Houses built before 1978 may contain lead paint.
Lead in house dust and soil is a major source of exposure for children because it gets on their hands, toys and pacifiers.
Lead dust is produced from lead paint as the paint gets older or damaged

How do children get lead poisoning?

Children mainly get lead from ingestion.
- Hand to mouth activity
- Paint dust, paint chips, contaminated soil
- Occasionally toys that come from foreign countries

The Gloucester County Health Department has the equipment to test consumer products that may contain lead such as toys pottery, jewelry and makeup. Residents can call our office to schedule a drop off time for the items they would like tested for lead. For more information click here

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Who should be tested for lead poisoning?

All children should be tested at both 12 and 24 months of age.
Any child 25 to 72 months (less than 6 years) who has never been tested previously.
Any child up to 72 months of age who has been exposed to a known or a suspected source of lead.
Risk Factors Include:
- Lives in or regularly visits a house or daycare built before 1978
- Lives with or frequently visits an adult whose job or hobby involves lead (painters, home improvement workers, fishermen, etc.)
- If another child in the home tests positive for lead

Childhood Lead Testing Information

NJ Department of Health Childhood Lead Testing Information - Click Here

Gloucester County Childhood Lead Prevention Subcommittee

Gloucester County Department of Health participates on the Gloucester County Childhood Lead Prevention Subcommittee (CLEP). The goal of the Gloucester County CLEP Subcommittee is to organize key representatives from the county's healthcare, social service and public health community to develop a plan of action to address Gloucester County's low blood lead screening rates.

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