Camino Smiles
The Camino Smiles free dental treatment program for uninsured children is offered through Camino Health Center’s Pediatric Dental Clinic.  Camino’s Pediatric Dental Clinic was established in 1997 as a response to a community needs assessment. Camino’s service area includes the federally designated low-income populations residing in the communities of San Juan Capistrano, Lake Forest, Dana Point, and San Clemente.  The program serves a demographically mixed population that is 89% Hispanic, 34% children five years old or younger, and 98% living below the 200% poverty level. 

Services provided include: annual exams, x-rays, cleanings, fillings, sealants, and some emergency services.  In addition to dental care offered in the clinic, Camino’s dental staff also provides oral health education and visual exams to at risk populations in the surrounding communities.

Camino Smiles program began in June 2007 with a grant of $54,990 from the St. Joseph Health System Foundation.  The objective of the Camino Smiles program was to increase the number of uninsured children who complete their treatment plan.  In addition, the program seeks to increase the awareness of early oral health habits among uninsured children and their caretakers. 

From June 2007 through May 2008, 244 uninsured patients received 582 free dental treatment visits. Dental plan completion rates among uninsured children increased by 16% and 92% of children and their caretakers who participated in the program demonstrated an increase in their oral health knowledge based pre- and post-test scores.

The Camino Smiles program has been funded again by the St. Joseph Health System Foundation in the amount of $72,720 for FY09 and will build upon the work completed in FY08.  Also, an application to the Monroe E. Trout Premier Cares Award has been submitted for recognition of the outstanding achievements of the Camino Smiles program.   Top

Homework Club
In September of 2004, The Homework Club was created to serve the children in the Community of San Juan Capistrano who were having difficulty completing the homework assignments that are so important to reinforcing the skills they were learning in the classroom. Many of these children were faced with a daily challenge to find a quiet and appropriate workspace. Others found it difficult to finish assignments on their own and were unable to rely on parents who were often working late into the evenings in order provide the essential needs for their families.

The Homework Club is available to children from local elementary schools in grades Kindergarten to 5th grade. The program is managed by the Family Services Coordinator from Mission Hospital’s Education Department and staffed by students from local high schools.

We serve an average of 20 to 25 kids during the school year with five hours a week of homework assistance. During the summer months, we also offer a short Summer Program that includes one hour of physical activity and one hour of tutoring three days a week.  Overall the children get the assistance with their homework in a safe environment that provides them the support and discipline they need. The parents of the students involved have expressed their deep appreciation and gratitude for the help their children receive and otherwise might not get.

With the collaboration of the Capistrano School District Adult Education Program, graciously allowing us to use their classrooms for the past four years, we plan to continue assisting the children of this community for many years to come.   Top

Project Search Education Initiative
The Project Search program at Mission Hospital began in September 2007 with four special needs students from the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) Adult Transition program.  The goal of the program is to provide the students with job skills that will allow them to obtain employment after graduation.  The students were placed for a school year long internship with several Mission Hospital departments including Central Supply, Nutritional Care Services, Mail Room, Human Resources, Community Benefit and Hospital Administration.  In these positions the students gained many new skills such as computer use, answering phones, filing, sorting mail, creating files, and stocking food and procedure carts for patients. The students also learned how to master the public transportation system to get to and from work.

Students were mentored by hospital personnel in each area along with a CUSD job coach.  The job coaches and hospital leads worked together to develop skill acquisition plans for the students and provide support in learning new skills.  Feedback from the program has been extremely positive.  Students in the program made tremendous growth and established friendships with their fellow co-workers at Mission Hospital.  The students' parents and teachers commented on the change that they had seen in their students.

The Project Search Program is based on a model established by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital that has been very successful in integrating special needs students into their organization's workforce.

At the end of the Mission Hospital/CUSD Project Search program, two students were hired in the areas of Hospital Administration and Nutritional Care Services.  They have become invaluable assets to their departments and the organization.  They have also started on their road to independence with one of the students moving into an apartment.

Mission hospital and CUSD will be implementing phase two of the program starting in September 2008 with 5 new students.   Top

Childhood Obesity Program
In 2007, Mission Hospital began offering a new service as part of a more global effort to combat childhood obesity.  The focus of this new initiative is to prevent obesity in children from 3 to 11 years old and it has three basic components.

• Educating families and children about nutrition and physical activity
• Supporting schools to make changes that support healthy lifestyles
• Supporting local governments and communities in making environmental
  changes to increase access to healthy foods and physical activity

In 2007/08, Mission Hospital worked with local residents and the City of San Juan Capistrano (SJC) to renovate local basketball and tennis courts.  In 2008, the courts were resurfaced creating safe places to play in one of SJCs low-income areas. Another focus of the program has been family education.

Participating families report they are losing weight, forming walking clubs, and feeling better about themselves.  And the kids are clearly having fun.
 
To date, approximately 100-150 children and adults have been served.  In addition, the program has more than 130 scholarships for children to participate in local dance and swimming programs. In the years ahead, the program will be expanded through the addition of a Community Development Coordinator who will work with local residents and cities to create environmental changes

Also in 2007, the South Orange County Obesity Task Force was created.  This group of over 20 local agencies serving south OC cities includes representatives from schools, cities, and non-profit organizations.  We have come together to address childhood obesity by focusing on the three goals mentioned above.  In 2007, we created the first South OC Childhood Obesity Resource Guide for providers and physicians to refer children to local programs and services.  In addition, the group is currently working on developing a referral network, to ensure families who need assistance can be easily referred from one program to another, increasing their continuum of care. The Community Development Coordinator will be instrumental in creating environmental change by bridging local residents with their cities.

Funding for these programs has
been provided by:
2007: Health Funders Partnership of Orange County
2008:SJHS Foundation
2008: SJHS Foundation Matching Funds

Affiliated organizations include: 
Boys and Girls Club, City of San Clemente, City of San Juan Capistrano, YMCA, Camino Health Center, Family Resource Centers, CREER, CHOC, Dairy Council, American Heart Association, UC Cooperative Extension, Orange County Health Care Agency,  CUSD, SVUSD, CHEC Neighborhood Health Committee    Top

Mentoring Moms
New mothers living in Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente were
identified as being at high risk for post-partum depression during Mission Hospital’s most recent needs assessment. At highest risk are new mothers who are isolated from family or friends, and/or have limited to no resources available to them.  These women are more likely to become involved in domestic violence relationships or have an increase incidence of child abuse. The purpose of “Mentoring Moms” is to link these mothers with mentors who can advise them based on their own experience with motherhood.

The program was implemented in September of 2006.  Since that time, more than 32 new mothers have benefited from the services provided.  Approximately 90% of the new moms served have expressed feeling supported, understood and able to take on their new role with the help of the mentor. An important future goal is to expand the program to reach additional mothers in need by contracting for a professional case manager.   Top

WE CARE Program
WECARE (Working to Enhance Care and Resources for Elders), established in 2007,
is an AmeriCorps project under Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Internship and Community Engagement Institute.  The purpose of WECARE is to build a corps of volunteers trained and dedicated to provide comprehensive services to ensure safe, healthy and independent living for seniors.

WECARE provides needed services including:

• In-home assessment, referral, companionship and meal delivery
• Chronic disease management and fall prevention classes
• Recreation/socialization activities, information fairs, etc.
• Education for seniors and caregivers

The benefits of a program like WECARE are many – increase in independent functioning, positive attitudes and perceived quality of life, decrease in healthcare costs and more.

Mission Hospital currently supports WECARE by serving as a host site for volunteers currently working in the parish communities of St. Timothy’s Catholic Church in Laguna Niguel and Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano. WECARE volunteers and Health Ministry staff at the hospital have worked together to develop a friendly visitor training manual and recruit volunteers from the community who were willing to make home visits to isolated seniors.  To date, 14 volunteers have been recruited and trained through the Mission Basilica.

Future goals are to continue both the Friendly Visitor Program, expand to other faith-based communities in south Orange County and train more lay leaders to conduct the Chronic Disease Self Management course.   Top