KEYWORD1:
Program Operations -WIC, Immunization Registry, Community Building

BACKGROUND:
NIS data for Washington State indicates WIC children are less immunized than non-WIC children. The CHILD Profile Immunization Registry (CPIR) is an important tool to track the immunization status of Washington children. At this time the registry is not fully populated with historical data. A statewide WIC/IZ Planning Workgroup, established in 2000, developed a strategic plan targeting population of the registry as one of its 3-5 year goals. An immunization record-round-up project was implemented in 2002 to address this goal. Participants were chosen from counties with the lowest percentage of children 19-36 months complete for 4:3:1:3:3. Over a two-month period, immunization records were collected from WIC caregivers and with consent entered into CPIR.

OBJECTIVE:
To increase the percentage of children 19-36 months with complete immunization history recorded in the immunization registry.

METHOD:
WIC caregivers were requested to bring their child’s immunization records at their next appointment. Records were collected and copied. Caregivers signed a consent form and were given a recognition item.
Staff at Local Health Departments and Community Migrant Health Centers entered the records into the immunization registry.

RESULT:
Preliminary results show that more than 95% of children are in the registry with at least the minimum of demographic information. An average of 8-12 additional encounters are being entered for each child. An added bonus is WIC caregivers are bringing in immunization records for all their children, not just those participating in WIC.

CONCLUSION:
This project is filling in the immunization gaps in the registry for this age cohort. It has been a positive collaborative project increasing the knowledge of the importance of immunizations and the registry.
LEARNINGOBJECTIVES:
Provide an example of a successful collaboration between WIC and Immunizations.