What are people saying about Mississippi Thrive?
We’re all about improving health outcomes for Mississippi’s
most precious asset—its children.
See what people are saying about the work of our project!
Health Care Providers
Having the [Mississippi] Thrive fellowship program embedded in our clinic has been a game-changer for, not only our patients, but for our physicians as well. To know that we can refer for an evaluation within a few days or even perform same-day “warm” hand-offs to these developmental and behavioral providers has made such a huge difference for our patients. Our patients and families seem to be much more trusting of this referral process and of course, are much more likely to keep these referral appointments. We feel far less children ‘fall through the cracks’ with this system than with our often very cumbersome system of the past. Most importantly, these children are evaluated and even co-managed within their medical home, which is the ultimate goal a medical home can provide for a child.
-Tami H. Brooks, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, University of Mississippi Medical Center
I am so thankful for the opportunity to have direct access to the special services available through Mississippi Thrive. I have learned so much from the DLC didactic presentations over the last year or more. Residency training and years of practice do not accurately delineate all the specific skills and services that are provided by other allied health professionals such as Speech therapy, and occupational therapy. And then the biweekly DLC meetings have provided my patients direct and immediate access to the developmental specialist they need. By presenting the patients in this setting I am able to discuss all my concerns and facilitate more specific and timely referrals. I am so thankful for this opportunity that has provided education and assistance with patient care without needing to travel or call numerous providers.
-Pam Sykes MD; Pediatrician
Mississippi Migrant Education Service Center
The [Mississippi] Thrive training was and continues to be beneficial for me because I did not have any knowledge beforehand of these wonderful resources that were shared with our team. These tools have proven to be very useful to share with migrant families in my region. These resources have made it easy for them to be more effective in supporting their children at home. All of the [Mississippi Thrive] resources play a very important role in the life of a child, from his brain and physical growth and development to facilitating the health of the child, which in turn fosters equal and fair opportunities for the child. When all this is collectively achieved as a team, it leads to the development of a responsible, healthy citizen, productive to society.
-Migrant Recruiter/Advocate, Mississippi Migrant Education Service Center
The training and bilingual resources provided by [Mississippi] Thrive throughout the past two years have allowed our organization to expand our service capacity to migratory children throughout the state of Mississippi. Thus far, we have had the pleasure of receiving two training sessions, and it was impressive that each session was individualized to effectively meet the needs of our staff and the special population we serve. Moreover, the training was very informative, as we were briefed on the current research on early learning and best practices for fostering healthy brain development in young children. The high level of professionalism, coupled with the team’s friendly, energetic demeanor, made the training sessions very engaging…This was particularly instrumental in helping our team retain the information presented, and I have seen their excitement in applying this knowledge in training our parents and facilitating brain building activities with our migratory children.
-Educational Services Coordinator, Mississippi Migrant Education Service Center
The resources and training provided by Mississippi Thrive are innovative and very effective. Although at first glance, it seemed complex, it is easy for families to apply, and particularly migrant families, as the resources are simple even for parents with limited education. Tools like the Vroom application and parent activity cards make parent-child learning fun and easy. I learned a lot from the training, and now I feel better equipped to facilitate and recommend activities for the parents, such as doing simple games or having meaningful conversations with their kids, because it helps to create a solid foundation in the development of the child. I think the most important thing to emphasize is that this bilingual material provides parents with the knowledge not only to help their child but also to understand why these activities are beneficial to their children.
-Migrant Recruiter/Advocate, Mississippi Migrant Education Service Center
Others
The multi-disciplinary [Mississippi] Thrive! team has been a great asset in helping to meet the needs of our students with more complicated issues and unidentified diagnoses. They have offered comprehensive developmental assessments and have been able to educate parents on diagnoses, prognosis and related needs in addition to assisting with making referrals to community resources. We feel [Mississippi Thrive!] has been an integral piece to helping children and families not only in our surrounding area, but in our state. It is our firm belief that with [Mississippi] Thrive! we can help create a better Mississippi through early identification and intervention.
-Curt Alford, Executive Director, Willowood Developmental Center, Jackson, MS
Our partnership with Mississippi Thrive has not only given us the opportunity to enhance our trainings on positive childhood interaction and brain development but has also provided early childhood professionals and families more resources to promote child development and early learning.
-Mississippi Department of Health Child Care Licensure Training Unit
I have been pleased with the health promotion and workforce development efforts of the Mississippi Thrive! project and believe that all children in the state should have access to optimal developmental health services.
-David R. Buys, Ph.D.; State Health Specialist, MSU Extension
The work that has been accomplished by this group has increased health promotion and workforce development throughout Mississippi… Furthermore, I feel that this group is needed for Mississippi to successfully respond to the overall developmental health needs of our children as we begin to re-open during this global pandemic.
-Alicia Westbrook, Ph.D.; Director, Mississippi Early Childhood Inclusion Center
This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $17.4 million with 0 percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government. For more information, please visit HRSA.gov today.
