By Maria Carter
Kansas City, MO – The Healthy Steps for Young Children program pairs a specially trained nurse or social worker with a doctor to monitor not only a child's health but also their developmental progress. The national director for Healthy Steps visited Swope Health Services on Wednesday to speak with community leaders and insurance companies about the importance of the program for children under three. Swope has offered the Healthy Steps service at its Northland location for five years, and since this past October, at the Blue Parkway site with the help of a one million dollar federal grant. KCUR's Maria Carter spoke with Doctor Warren Johnson, a Healthy Steps pediatrician at Swope, about how the program fills gaps in the medical system.