The Rio Rancho, New Mexico Wic Clinic

A few days ago I had a rescheduled appointment at WIC. The picture on the left is from the WIC website and is the actual location of where we go to pick up our formula.

I have to say that I am thoroughly impressed with how WIC runs here. I really don’t even know where to begin! When we first moved to Rio Rancho, I was expecting the same old boring clinic, lifeless faces and cold stern attitudes of the staff and a “I really don’t care anything about you or your child, this is just a paycheck” demeanor. That’s how it was in Maryland, so I just assumed they were all like that. In the Maryland clinic, parents allowed their kids to bring in all kinds of food and of course it inevitably will drop on the floor. Back then, I used to keep Simone buckled into her stroller for fear that she would pick up a lone honey nut Cheerio or play with toys that another child was using after eating a peanut butter cookie or peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I don’t know who played with those toys before we got there!

Let me tell you a little more about the WIC office in Maryland first so that I can present the stark contrast between their services and the Rio Rancho branch of WIC:

• The clinic was dirty
• The staff could care less about me or Simone
• The dietitian NEVER listened to me when I told her that Simone can’t drink or eat any of the things they were giving me checks each month for. I would always hand them back in, and the same process would happen all over again. More checks for things that she can not eat or drink.
• I had to sit in on classes about things that did not pertain to Simone nutritionally. She can not eat wheat, dairy, eggs, peanuts or soy, so why was I made to go to classes that talked about the importance of my child receiving those things. Its not like they were offering an alternative class that could help me in any way!
• That place was the most depressing place on the planet.

Now, the Rio Rancho WIC clinic I believe is in a league of its own. Here are the highlights for me:

• The clinic is clean, bright and well organized.
• There are areas for Simmi to play, run around and enjoy other children
• The staff are always very pleasant, courteous and very helpful
• Although I don’t go to the classes here because they were actually smart enough to pick up on the fact that Simmi has some different needs than other children, I do get to meet with a dietitian each month where we can go over her progress and I can ask questions or voice concerns about her nutrition. (I love that!)
• If she didn’t have multiple allergies, I would love to be able to go to their cooking classes. Yes, this WIC clinic has cooking classes!
• There is a playgroup that she can be a part of. All I have to do is set up an appointment and she can come in to play with other children.
• They have a dental clinic
• I have seen some kids with food, BUT there isn’t left over food all over the floor.
• They have an art room where she and other kids can wander in and sit at a table just their size and color, or they can play with the big busy beads. Am I concerned about some of the toys there? Yes, but she is more interested in interacting with children and other people there, than actually playing with the busy beads.
• And the biggest plus I saw was that I could enroll Simmi in Medicaid from there and have everything taken care of in one place.

There’s more!

I was introduced to the social worker there, his name is Arthur. This man was incredible. He brought us into a room where Simmi could play and we could talk, and from there he began to work his magic. Simmi totally loved him. He was easy to talk to, caring and began to explain all the resources available to her. He started the process of setting up her Medicaid, explained how it works here in New Mexico, and gave me the numbers to call so that I could set up a few much needed appointments. We scheduled another appointment for me to come back in the next day and finish up all the paper work, but when the morning rolled around and Simmi hadn’t had a bowel movement (they are getting worse again), I had to cancel our appointment. He says that wouldn’t be a problem and that he could swing by the house so that I could sign some of the paperwork to get her into the system. Who does that? If I were in Maryland, they would have scheduled me for a week or two from that date and then I would still have to take a number and wait a good three hours for an appointment that I made. What’s the good of making an appointment if you aren’t going to be seen at that time? Anyway, Arthur came by our house, I signed the papers and off he went. She finally pooped today, so now I can make an appointment to go in. While he was here at the house, he told me that he is working on setting up something for Simmi so she can participate with the other kids. He even told me that he went and cleaned all the toys and made sure there wasn’t anything in his office that she might accidentally ingest…like a stray Cheerio. Whenever I go anywhere with Simmi I am always on guard which makes me feel tense and even a little neurotic. I want to be able to enjoy going somewhere with her without having to police the situation, and I feel that the WIC clinic and the staff of Rio Rancho has brought me one step closer to that reality.

Kudos to them for providing the very best service and for truly caring about our little ones.

Tags: WIC clinic of Rio Rancho