Group to host child health summit

The Wellness Alliance for Total Children's Health, led by Cook Children's, (WATCH) is hosting a Denton specific child health summit from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday. More than five years ago, Cook Children's launched Community-wide Children's Health Assessment and Planning Survey (CCHAPS) to identify the top children's health needs in its service area. The first survey, completed in 2008, discovered the key issues children face in the five-county area are asthma, obesity, mental health, dental health, abuse, safety and access to care. The 2008 CCHAPS data shows us that 10.5 percent or 14,506 children in Denton County received assistance for a mental illness or a behavioral, emotional or developmental problem. This percentage is much higher than the total percentage for our six-county region and the state and national average.