Welcome to CATCH Kids
Free Healthcare for Kids
Our Mission
Our mission is to remove barriers to healthcare for children in three NE Mississippi counties: Pontotoc, Chickasaw, and Lee. We are dedicated to promoting the well-being of children and creating healthier futures for them.
Our Services
It is important to remember that CATCH Kids is a simple medical clinic and launching point for children to find their medical homes and additional health care coverage. As such, the services we provide in clinic are limited.
The services we do provide are all FREE. We do not consult or file insurance.
If parents need help signing up for Medicaid, CHIP, or searching for an insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act, we can assist the parents in this process at our Tupelo office with one of our certified ACA Navigators or Medicaid/CHIP Assisters.
Services we DO provide:
- Sports physicals for P.E., team sports, band, Special Olympics and Headstart.
- Basic medication prescriptions such as antibiotics for bacterial infections. We can cover the cost of a limited set of prescriptions at specific pharmacies: Walgreens and Westside Pharmacy in Tupelo, Okolona Drugs in Okolona, and Montgomery Drugs in Pontotoc.
- Referrals for additional services at local clinics with more comprehensive capabilities.
- Preventative oral health education and products including a toothbrush kit.
- Dental referrals to one of our local dental partners. We may cover the expenses of simple dental problems such as a cavity or a toothache, if the child does not have private dental insurance, Medicaid, or CHIP.
We do NOT have a dentist on site at our clinics and do not provide dental cleanings, nor can we cover the cost of any dental services requiring general anesthesia, braces, orthodontic treatment, or cosmetic dentistry.
We currently partner with Main Street Family Dentists, Creative Smiles, pediatric dentist Dr. Ken Johnson, and Collier Dental.
Services we do NOT provide:
- Immunizations
- Bloodwork
- X-Rays
- Sutures
- Trauma care including burns, broken bones, gunshot wounds, injury due to a car wreck or an accident
- Emergency care
- Psychiatric treatment
- Disability Forms
- Comprehensive dental work
Fast Facts about CATCH Kids, Inc.
- “CATCH” is an acronym for Community Access to Child Healthcare.
- We are a nonprofit organization with a 501(c)(3) status.
- We are a Community Partner in the United Way of NE Mississippi.
- Our funds come only from grants and donations. We do not generate an income from services provided.
- We provide FREE healthcare to children from birth through age 18.
- We have community health clinics in 4 locations — 2 in Tupelo; one in Pontotoc; and one in Okolona, MS.
- CATCH Kids, Inc was created in 1997.
- We are a local organization. We are not affiliated with any other (state or national) organization.
- We serve 3 counties in NE Mississippi – Lee, Pontotoc, & Chickasaw.
- In the last year, we provided healthcare to approximately 450 children and paid for dental care (emergency and/or restorative) for 6 children.
- Over 1,200 children and teachers benefitted from our in-school oral health education program in school year 2021-2022. This included classroom education and FREE toothbrush kits.