News - Spotlight
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12/19/2011
When the time comes for mothers to seek child care, there can be a lot of anxiety and concern. After all, it means a change of routine, communication and interaction for both mother and baby. One big hurdle for many working mothers is juggling the schedule of a job while continuing to provide optimal infant and young child feeding. To address this obstacle for families, the Carolina Global Breastfeeding Institute (CGBI) spearheaded a collaborative initiative in Wake County, which began in 2009, to create child care environments which support mothers so they can give their infants the best start in life through continued breastfeeding.
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07/28/2011
Big steps have been taken by several groups in Wake County to build connections, improve resources and encourage active lifestyles. In 2007, the Triangle Transit Authority and the Gethsemane SDA Church both received three-year grants from the John Rex Endowment to tackle separate projects to remove barriers in communities where activities are inhibited by lack of access and safety concerns. Through collaboration, they addressed key missing links and created connections for active living. [Read more]
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05/02/2011
Our environment often affects our mood, outlook and activities. Lack of access, safety concerns, or pedestrian obstacles can easily become everyday reasons for lower levels of activity. Fortunately, there is a movement in Wake County to take the right steps to both remove these barriers and create environments which encourage physical activity.Notable improvements have been made to specific towns, trails and parks in Wake County in the last three years. In 2007, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Town of Cary and Town of Holly Springs all set out to impact active living in their respective communities with the support of three-year Active Community and Neighborhood Grants from the John Rex Endowment. -
11/12/2010
Asthma attacks can keeps kids awake at night – coughing, wheezing and gasping for air. Asthma symptoms frequently interrupt sleep, disrupt school days, create panic and frequently result in trips to the emergency room. “It doesn’t always have to be that way,” says Jackie Choman, a respiratory therapist and certified asthma educator at Rex Healthcare. With the help of a three-year grant from the John Rex Endowment, Choman has played an integral role in expanding WE CAN, a school-based asthma education program, to reach an additional 762 children at 53 elementary and middle schools.
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05/12/2010
Making healthy choices isn’t always as easy as it sounds. It’s even harder if your food choices are limited.
Thousands of children in Wake County do not have access to foods they need to thrive and maintain a healthy weight. These children have food insecurities and do not know when or how they will get their next meal. Consequently, they are likely to both miss meals and fill up on more readily available low-cost, high-calorie foods with poor nutritional value.
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03/02/2010
When it comes to your health, relationships play a big role. You want to be heard, and you want to trust that your needs are understood. Communication is a top priority, and a smile can go a long way!
Wake Health Services learned exactly that, and so much more, when the organization took the time to step back, assess and improve its capacity to meet the needs of the Spanish-speaking community. What began as an initiative to provide bilingual support grew into so much more as the organization embraced opportunities to improve in other areas along the way.
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12/15/2009
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is the second most common developmental disability; however, there are often mixed messages about autism which can lead to confusion for families and the medical community. ASD refers to a group of developmental disabilities that affect a person’s ability to understand what they see, hear and otherwise sense. At times, the varied nature of ASD contributes to a lack of understanding and results in barriers to care and a failure to diagnose medical problems. -
08/31/2009
Positive Leadership & Youth Development
In recent months, the John Rex Endowment was privileged to attend graduation ceremonies for participants from Planned Parenthood's Teens Taking Action, El Pueblo's Líderes de Salud and Wake County 4-H Extension's PODER. These local groups have a lot to celebrate! -
05/29/2009
Imagine being a child and hearing words such as gastroenterologist, pulmonologist or endocrinologist. Worse yet, imagine being a parent facing a wait of weeks or months for your child to see a pediatric subspecialist.A shortage of pediatric subspecialists is a nationwide problem. North Carolina ranks particularly low, with 75 percent fewer pediatric subspecialists per child than the national average. As a result, children with specialized health needs struggle to get appointments and frequently have to travel great distances for care.
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10/21/2008
Award-Winning ENERGIZE! Program Turns Kids into Champions
Through ENERGIZE!, a 12-week, family-based program for children ages 6 to 18 with pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, kids learn how to build lifelong, healthy attitudes about food and fitness. For kids like Ashle and Alex, who weren't actively involved in athletics at the time of pre-diabetes diagnosis, the program has strong record of success.