March 28, 2024

WIC begins new initiative

MATURA Action Corporation’s Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program will begin a new initiative this week as they convert participant paper checks to electronic benefit cards in all the counties served by MATURA.

The rollout of the new cards begins Tuesday, May 24, and will continue through mid-August. The conversion is a statewide initiative that began last November and will continue until all the agencies have transitioned to the new system.

“The rollout that begins for us this week actually consists of two major changes in the WIC world,” said Karla Hynes, MATURA’s WIC/MCH director. “First the introduction of the electronic benefits card or eWIC and second an entirely new computer operating system.”

Hynes said the entire WIC staff attended a weeklong training in Atlantic to prepare for the new systems.

“The biggest difference our participants will experience is the new cards. Many advantages are associated with the cards including more discretion at checkout, purchasing smaller amounts and allowing participants to make decisions at the store instead of at our clinic,” said Hynes.

The eWIC cards will save valuable time, Hynes said, however, during the first days of rollout, participants should expect to add a few minutes to the appointment.

“We have a lot of items to review with participants including setting up the card so the first appointment with the eWIC cards could take more time. We’ll have extra staff on hand whenever possible to help streamline the process,” Hynes said.

For more information or to schedule an appointment call 641-202-7114.

WIC is a supplemental nutrition program for babies, children under the age of five, pregnant women, breastfeeding women and women who have had a baby in the last six months.

WIC helps families by providing healthy foods, nutrition education and referrals to other health care agencies. The local WIC agency is managed by MATURA Action Corporation.