Friday morning, officials with the City of El Paso Department of Public Health’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program announced that they have reopened two centers, which were temporarily closed earlier this year.
The San Elizario WIC Center, located at 12004 Socorro Road, and the Henderson WIC Center, at 271 S. Mesa Street, have resumed their services.
Officials add that there are now 11 centers operating and offering curbside service in order to limit direct contact and practice social distancing while expediting services.
“The state has extended the waivers which means we don’t need to weigh, measure or conduct a blood sample in order for residents to participate in the women, infants or children, so only one person needs to attend the appointment, and parents don’t need to bring their children,” said Herlinda Pouliot, Interim WIC Program Manager.
“The state has also added a new online portal where the participant creates a profile with their email address that is linked to their client file. Clients can upload documents and answer health history questions so that when they come to the appointment, most of the process has been started and advanced.”
The online portal will reduce the wait time for families when they attend their appointment and staff review the uploaded information so that their benefits can be loaded into their WIC card.
WIC provides supplemental foods, breastfeeding support and social service referrals to Women, Infants and Children under 5 years of age. During the first two weeks of curbside service, the program has provided services to 3,016 participants including 535 new participants.
WIC staff continues to contact participants to schedule appointments to provide curbside service. Documentation required such as income, residency and personal identification will be requested electronically when possible.
Those without internet access can still bring their documentation, which will be reviewed in person at the 11 WIC locations, which include:
Lee Trevino Center, 1840 Lee Trevino Fort Bliss Center, Building 51 Slater
Ysleta Center, 110 Candelaria Americas Center, 10039 North Loop
Sunrise Center, 8500 Dyer #54 Westside Center, 5195 Mace
North Loop Center, 8010 N. Loop George Dieter Center, 1757 George Dieter #109-111
Pershing Center, 3707 Pershing
For more information about WIC Services, visit www.EPHealth.com or www.EPSalud.com. Appointments for WIC services can be made by calling (915) 212-4942.
