By Randy Savoie, BCL

New Orleans Job Corps Center medical trainees volunteered at the Healthy Start New Orleans “Celebrate Healthy Babies” event on Tuesday at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Medical Office Support, Clinical Medical Assistant and Health Occupation Technology trainees attended seminars and assisted vendors such as the LaCHIP Office, who was on hand to help attendees with the completion of Medicaid applications.

Trainee Leadership Council President and MOS trainee Paulicia Nelloms says it was an educational experience.

“They had different booths for young mothers to learn about the steps for a healthy pregnancy,” said Paulicia. “There were a lot of organizations there providing valuable services to help young, low-income mothers. I helped out at the Fire Department table and I asssisted at the WIC table handing out pamphlets and explaining the various services that WIC offers.”

WIC provides Federal grants to States for supplemantal foods, health care referrals, and nutritional education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.

The event also gave New Orleans Job Corps trainees an opportunity to impress employers as MOS students worked along side representatives from Ocean Dental, The Mother’s Nest and Just Kids Dental.