Indiana Health Centers

12/22/2025

When you’re considering buying toys for children with special needs, think about the following:

• Choose toys for the child’s developmental (not chronical) age. Children with special needs may have a unique risk of injury if their physical or behavioral development doesn’t match the age the age on the package
• Watch for choking hazards. If the child is small for their age or has a swallowing condition, avoid toys with small parts
• Look for toys that help parents and children play together. This promotes high-quality bonding time together, rather than looking for the toy to advance the child’s development. A parent’s involvement also helps them notice their child’s strengths and achievements
• Ask the child’s therapist for ideas. Speech, occupational, or physical therapists can suggests toys and activities to help your child master new play skills at home.
• Adjust the toy to fit the child. Putting foam, Velcro, larger buttons and other aids on a toy can help children with motor, visual, or other disabilities to enjoy play.
• Limit digital screen toys. Children and adults talk less when they play with electronic toys. Traditional toys inspire active, creative pretend play.
• Books are toys. Reading to your child inspires ideas for pretend play. The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that parents read to or with their children every day.

If you have questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.
Information provided by healthychildren.org

12/19/2025

All IHC locations will be closed Wednesday, December 24th, Thursday, December 25th, and Thursday, January 1st for the holidays.

12/18/2025

Another important topic in toy safety is choking hazards. Some toys and games contain small parts that young children can choke on.

• The most common non-food choking hazards include batteries, coins, marbles, small stones, balloons, magnets, small toys, and small art supplies.
• Use a choke tester (a plastic tube you can purchase at toy or baby specialty stores) to measure the size of the toy or part. If the piece fits entirely inside the tube, it is considered a choking hazard
• Children can choke or suffocate on broken or uninflated balloons. Do not allow children under age 8 to play with them.
• Talk to older children about keeping their smaller toys out of sight and out of reach of younger children

Information provided by the American Academy of Pediatrics (www.aap.org). If you have questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.

12/18/2025

IHC's corporate office staff welcomed Lifeline Christian Mission today to pack meals to hand out to anyone in need. Thank you to everyone who joined us in packing more than 2100 meals!

12/17/2025

The 340B prescription savings program is vital to IHC and community health centers nationwide. Please help us advocate to protect the 340B program as it is by clicking the link below and sending letters to drug manufacturers, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and Walgreens.

Join our campaign to urge prescription drug manufacturers to exempt Community Health Centers (CHCs) from a rebate program that threatens patients' access to affordable medication.

The 340B Drug Pricing Program has been a vital lifeline for CHCs, enabling them to stretch scarce federal resources and provide affordable, life-saving and life-changing medications to patients with chronic illness.

HRSA’s proposed 340B Rebate Model Pilot would fundamentally disrupt this model, eliminating upfront discounts, increasing costs, straining limited cash reserves, and jeopardizing access to essential medications and primary care services.

NACHC is educating federal decision makers and drug manufacturers, but we need your voice, too.

🔗 Use the link to send letters to drug companies, HRSA, and Walgreens, urging them to protect the 340B Program and exempt CHCs from the rebate model. 👉 https://bit.ly/ExemptCHCs340BRebateModel

12/15/2025

If you’re buying new electronics for anyone in the family, be careful of button batteries. Each year in the US, more than 2,800 kids are treated for swallowing button batteries. Keep electronics that use button batteries (remote controls, calculators, watches, etc.) out of sight and out of reach of children.

If you’ve lost a battery cover for any electronic device, keep the device locked away or cover duct tape over the batteries so that little hands can’t remove the battery.

If you suspect that your child has ingested a battery, take them to the hospital immediately. Don’t induce vomiting or have your child eat or drink anything until they’ve been seen by a provider.

Add the National Battery Ingestion Hotline number into your phone today – (800) 498-8666. Call anytime for additional treatment information.

If you have questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.

12/13/2025

Did you know that all IHC locations offer free Naloxone, 24/7? Naloxone is a life-saving medication used to reverse an opioid overdose, including overdose related to he**in, fentanyl, or prescription opioid medications. Naloxone is quick, easy to use, safe, and is not addictive. Naloxone doses are free and accessible to everyone. If you need a dose as a preventative or in an emergency, please visit any IHC location and take what you need. The box is regularly restocked.

12/11/2025

Why are magnetic toys so dangerous?

High-powered magnet sets are made of tiny and powerful magnet balls or cubes, and if swallowed, they can pull together inside your child’s body and cause serious and life-threatening damage to the digestive system. Some tips to protect your children from these dangers include:
• Keep products with small or loose magnets away from young children who might swallow them
• Talk to older children and teens about the serious dangers associated with using magnets as fake piercings in their mouths or noses
• Know the symptoms of magnet ingestion: abdominal pain, vomiting, and fever
• Delayed treatment can lead to severe injuries to the stomach, intestines, and digestive tract, and can lead to death

Information provided by www.healthychildren.org. If you have other questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.

12/10/2025

No health insurance, no problem! At IHC, we have Navigators that can help you to apply for HIP and the Marketplace. We can also look at your household income to determine if you qualify for discounted services based on your income. Call today!

12/08/2025

If your child rides a bicycle, please review these guidelines:

• A child should wear a helmet every time they ride, even if it’s a short ride. Make sure the helmet fits correctly, covers their forehead, and the straps are tightly fastened
• Make sure the bike is the right size for the child. When they stand straddling the top bar with both feet flat on the ground, there should be 1-3 inches of space between them and the bar
• Make sure the seat, handlebars, and wheels fit tightly, that the breaks work, and the tires have enough air in them
• Wear bright clothes and put reflectors on the bicycle to make the child more visible.
• Set rules about where they can ride
• Have children ride on the sidewalk when they can, but also talk to them about vehicle traffic safety

Information provided by www.kidshealth.org. If you have other questions about bicycle safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.

12/05/2025

When choosing toys for younger children, items to avoid include:

• Toys with small, removable parts that may pose a choking hazard. Use a choke tester (a plastic tube you can purchase at toy or baby specialty stores) to measure the size of the toy or part. If the piece fits entirely inside the tube, it is considered a choking hazard
• Toys with sharp points or edges that may accidentally cut a child or someone else
• Toys that make loud noises may permanently impair a child’s hearing
• Propelled and projectile toys can cause cuts and serious eye injuries
• Toys with strings, straps, or cords longer than seven inches can wrap around a child’s neck and strangle them
• Toys painted with lead based paint can cause serious damage to a child’s brain, kidneys, and nervous system

Information provided by www.parents.com. If you have questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.

12/03/2025

December is Toy Safety Awareness Month! Join us this month as we discuss toy safety topics for all ages.

One way you can practice toy safety is to make sure you’re providing age appropriate toys for children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that you give toys that match a child’s age, abilities, skills and interest level.

Toy packaging includes safety labels for hazards (like small parts that may present a choking risk), and developmental age labeling describes the age of children for which the toy is intended. Checking these labels before you give the toy to a child is a good first step to toy safety.

If you have questions about toy safety, please visit indianahealthonline.org/our-locations to find the nearest IHC location, and call today to make an appointment with an IHC provider.