The goal of Healthy Kids Mendocino (HKM) is to make sure that all local children have health insurance. Research shows that kids with insurance are much healthier, attend school more regularly, and graduate at higher rates.

FIRST 5 led the effort to create HKM by dedicating $500,000 in 2003. Since the program officially began in 2006, it's achieved major successes:

• MORE CHILDREN GETTING INSURANCE: Healthy Kids Mendocino has reduced by half the number of children lacking health insurance in the county. Before HKM began, approximately 17% of all children in the county lacked insurance. By the end of 2007, the rate of uninsured kids had dropped to 7%.
• HEALTHIER CHILDREN: As a result of HKM efforts, the number of children lacking access to health care has dropped dramatically. In 2005, 17% of children had never been to a dentist. Today, that rate has dropped to just 8%. In 2005, 31% of children had visited the emergency room in the past 12 months. Today, that rate has dropped to 12%. And in 2005, 13% of parents reported that they had delayed or didn't get medical care for their child. Today, that rate has dropped to just 5%.
• MIDDLE-INCOME CHILDREN INSURED: Before HKM began, families who earned between $40,000 and $60,000 for a family of four, and weren't insured through their jobs, had to buy expensive private insurance. Now these families can get insurance through HKM for as low as $7 per month per child.

For more information about Healthy Kids Mendocino, call 463-KIDS or click here for the HKM website

When more kids are insured, the whole community benefits. HKM has:

• SAVED LOCAL HOSPITALS $650,000 by reducing the number of hospital visits by uninsured children;
• INCREASED REVENUE TO LOCAL SCHOOLS by almost $540,000 by reducing the number of school days missed; and
• BROUGHT MORE THAN $2.8 million into the community. When insurance pays a nurse’s salary, she might use it to pay a carpenter, who might use it to get a haircut, etc. The result is more prosperity for all.

HEALTY KIDS MENDOCINO PARTNERS: FIRST 5 Mendocino, Alliance for Rural Community Health, and the Mendocino County Health & Human Services Agency. Funding comes from FIRST 5 Mendocino, Mendocino County, The California Endowment, The California HealthCare Foundation, The Community Foundation of Mendocino County, and Mendocino County business owners and individual donors.