ECC and HealthySteps Milestones
It all started when…
April 2003: HealthySteps was introduced in Stillwater as a partnership between Warren Clinic and Payne County Health Department, the first public/private HealthySteps partnership in the nation. Services were provided part-time by Child Guidance staff and funded by Payne County Health Department until 2010, when the program ended due to funding shortages at the state health department.
June 2010: The Early Childhood Coalition was formed to ensure continuation of HealthySteps services and act as a collaboration hub for community efforts to support young children and families.
January 2012: HealthySteps was reestablished with the help of Payne County Youth Services and the Oklahoma Commission on Children and Youth, using private funds. The program was offered two days each week.
November 2016: HealthySteps began offering full-time services for families at the SMC Pediatrics.
September 2017: We worked with OSU Human Development and Family Sciences Internship program to create opportunities for student/workforce development through HealthySteps.
September 2018: In collaboration with Our Daily Bread and Infant Crisis Services in OKC, we were successful in bringing the Baby Mobile to our community.
October 2018: The results of ECC’s successful pilot study of ACES/PACES surveys in the SMC Pediatric Clinic were presented at the national Zero to Three Conference, opening the door for a model project to support pediatricians in using evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes for children and families.
June 2020: HealthySteps has served more than 19,000 children and their families, who are seen an average of 10 out of 13 well-child checks in the first 5 years of life. We work in close coordination with the in-clinic HAN nurse as well as outside local physicians, agencies, and providers to ensure the best service for families in need of referrals and/or support.
January 2022 Launched the Building a Better Brain Campaign, partnering with child care facilities and Stillwater Public Schools to provide information and support concerning brain development in the early years. ECC became an affiliate in The Basics Network of communities in 2023.
April 2022 Co-sponsored the Healthy Communities, Healthy Children Summit with Resilient Payne County, bringing together more than 80 community stakeholders to establish a strategy and action plan to improve outcomes for Payne County families.
February 2023 With Resilient Payne County, convened more than 100 residents, stakeholders, policy makers and other community members in a Healthy Communities, Healthy Children Action Planning workshop to focus on advocacy and education for early childhood, including: quality childcare workforce development, childcare availability for every family, and partnerships to create a Family Resource Center in Stillwater.
Fall 2023 Joined the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce for greater community impact and networking, and were accepted as a United Way of Payne County agency.
December 2023 Our Building a Better Brain Campaign has been formally recognized as “Stillwater Basics” by the national Basics Learning Network.