WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio — A registered dietitian who oversees nutrition assistance for the county’s pregnant women, new mothers and young children is marking a decade with Fayette County Public Health.
Karyn Tucker, a registered dietitian, serves as director of the agency’s WIC program, the health department said in a Facebook post celebrating her 10-year milestone.
WIC, short for Women, Infants and Children, provides nutrition education and supplemental food assistance to pregnant, postpartum and nursing mothers along with infants and children up to age 4. As director, Tucker leads the local clinic’s staff, which includes a breastfeeding coordinator, a clerk and a peer helper who work out of the health department’s office on South Fayette Street.
The program traces its roots to an amendment to the federal Child Nutrition Act of 1966, born out of concern over nutrition deficiencies among pregnant women. After a two-year pilot run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the first WIC clinic opened Jan. 15, 1974, in Pineville, Kentucky, and the program had spread to 45 states by the end of that year. Congress added a farmers market benefit in 1989, and WIC launched a national breastfeeding promotion effort in 1991 that grew into the peer-helper model — pairing mothers who breastfed through WIC with current participants for mother-to-mother support — formalized in 2004.
The recognition comes weeks after Fayette County Public Health marked a similar milestone for Janessa Williamson, the agency’s health educator and WIC breastfeeding coordinator, who also reached 10 years of service in August.
Fayette County Public Health describes its mission as protecting the community through health promotion and disease prevention. The agency is led by Health Commissioner Leigh N. Cannon and Medical Director Dr. Jim McWeeney, under a governing board chaired by Dr. Brian Jenks.
“Thank you, Karyn, for your service to Fayette County Public Health and to the community!” the health department said in its post marking the anniversary.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Fayette County Public Health.
