What Would YOUR School Do With $25,000 to Improve Youth Fitness?

Georgia's own Spring Hill Elementary in Chatsworth is in the top 10 finalists.  Can we make them number 1?

/PRNewswire/ -- Parents, teachers and community members from across the country have nominated their local schools to win $25,000 in fitness cash in an effort to address the urgent health and fitness crisis among our nation's youth. The entry period is now over, and the top ten finalists have been chosen for the 2010 Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit Contest—now it's up to YOU to decide which school will win the $25,000 prize!

Henkel, the company behind some of the nation's leading consumer brands such as Dial® soaps, Purex® laundry detergent, Renuzit® air freshener, Right Guard® antiperspirant, and Soft Scrub® household cleaners, in cooperation, the American Council on Exercise (ACE), have chosen the top 10 finalists in the Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit contest. Parents, teachers and community members were encouraged to visit www.HenkelHelps.com to nominate their local school by answering a fundamental question: "What Would Your School Do with $25,000 to Improve Youth Fitness?"

The TEN FINALISTS (alphabetically by last name), with excerpts from their essay submissions, include:

* Tracy Carey from Maricopa, AZ nominated Santa Cruz Elementary School – "Adding a climbing wall to our multipurpose room brings an activity that promotes self-esteem, contributes to cardiovascular and muscular endurance, enhances the skills of cooperation and team-building and is super fun!"


* Ryan Koslovsky from Saint Charles, IL nominated East Aurora High School – "Our school is located in a poverty level district and is filled with students of all ages that are determined to look past the negative influences around them and succeed here at East."


* Amy Kriveloff from Bronx, NY nominated P754X – "95% of our population lives below the poverty level and qualifies for the federally funded in school breakfast/lunch program. 1/3 of our students reside in foster care or in Group Homes."


* Ashley Langford from Chatsworth, GA nominated Spring Place Elementary School – "Spring Place Elementary has a lot of heart to say the least. Walk the tattered halls of this school, and you will not see the dilapidated building, you will see hundreds of smiling faces- both on the children and adults as they grow and learn."


* Julie Maguder from Meriden, CT nominated Washington Middle School – "Despite all of the facts we know about the direct correlation between regular exercise and academic success, we have no ability to incorporate regular exercise into our students' lives. Last year's budget was $220.00 and this year…NO MONEY was allotted to buy any equipment for our PE program."


* Terri Mills from Memphis, TN nominated Knight Road Elementary School – "[B]ecause of the fact that our children are being raised in poverty, our school attempts to meet the needs of the children right where they are now. We struggle continually because of a lack of funding to provide even necessities. Our children are wonderful and deserve the very best."


* Darci Nice from Polson, MT nominated Pablo Elementary School – "After watching your videos I chuckled to myself thinking how fortunate the majority of schools are just to receive an average pay of $764.00. Our physical education program here has received for the past two years, $300.00 each year."


* Mary Kathryn Rains from Tampa, FL nominated Freedom High School – "If Freedom High School receives the grand prize, not one penny would go to waste. For starters, the Physical Education department works with a budget of $750 each year. For small schools, this amount may be substantial, but in a school of 2300 students, this amount fails to provide students with fitness resources."


* Brenda Tarquinio from Frederick, MD nominated Orchard Grove Elementary School – "Schools at the elementary level are often left out of advantages such as a paved track and we are left to figure out where to have our students run. Yet…students who love to move their body in elementary school will be on the road to learning about life long fitness."


* Erin Zajac from Stillwater, OK nominated Will Rogers Elementary School – "If awarded the $25,000 grant money from Henkel Helps, Will Rogers will have the opportunity to create a safer, more durable walking path on the playground."


The top 10 finalists will receive a free Flip™ video camera to create a brief video that brings to life the health and fitness issues facing their school and their idea for making the most of the $25,000 prize. Starting November 15, consumers will vote online at http://www.HenkelHelps.com to select the school they feel deserves to win the $25,000 to help improve youth fitness.

"In the last three years, Henkel Helps has worked to give back to the communities across North America," said Natalie Violi, Director-Corporate Communications – Henkel. "Our 2010 campaign, Henkel Helps Get Kids Fit, hopes to inspire communities around their schools' fitness programs and make a meaningful difference in the lives of kids, families and neighborhoods nationwide."

For more information please visit http://www.HenkelHelps.com.

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Georgia Health Sciences University Name Approved By Regents

What’s in a name? When it comes to telling the full story of the missions of its 35 colleges and universities, plenty, according to the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia (USG). The board approved today a request from the Medical College of Georgia (MCG) to change its name to Georgia Health Sciences University (GHSU).

“The new name more accurately reflects and encompasses the broad and growing health sciences teaching and research mission we have, not just in Augusta, but statewide,” said USG Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr.

Board Chair Willis Potts said, “Georgia Health Sciences University truly indicates the institution’s status as a comprehensive health sciences university that benefits the citizens of this state and nation as a whole and the board’s approval is a testament to our commitment to its mission.” The name change will take effect February 1, 2011.

The regents’ action today, while changing the name of the broader institution, will allow MCG President Ricardo Azziz to retain the historic name Medical College of Georgia for the university’s School of Medicine. MCG’s other four schools will change their designations to colleges.

“Georgia Health Sciences University better defines our institution as what it is – a comprehensive health sciences university and a modern academic health center,” said Azziz. “In this competitive world of rankings and reputation, we believe the new change will allow us to achieve the national prominence and recognition that this university community so richly deserves.”

The name change will not affect the MCG Health System or MCG Health. Both entities will retain their names, a reflection of their strong connection to the university’s medical school.

The board’s action today follows three independent studies conducted since 2007, all of which supported the renaming. Earlier this year, the possibility of a name change resurfaced during a MCG Health System retreat. Azziz and other MCG officials have engaged the university’s many constituent groups, including alumni, students, faculty, staff, corporate and community leaders, in the dialogue leading up to today’s board approval.

Founded in 1828 as the Medical Academy of Georgia, the university has been renamed five times in its 182-year history. It was first named Medical College of Georgia in 1833 and has been called MCG continuously since 1950.

A website featuring frequently asked questions is available at: http://name.mcg.edu

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HHS Announces Plans to Make $80 Million Available to Support Health IT Workforce

Grants Will Support Community College Training Programs, Curriculum Development, Additional Programs to be Announced in Coming Weeks

Dr. David Blumenthal, HHS' National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, today announced plans to make available $80 million in grants to help develop and strengthen the health information technology workforce. The grants that will be made available include $70 million for community college training programs and $10 million to develop educational materials to support these programs. Both programs will support the immediate need for skilled health information technology (health IT) professionals who will enable the broad adoption and use of health IT throughout the United States.

Authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the grants are the first in a series of programs to help strengthen and support the health IT workforce. Additional details regarding the grant programs for these and other key resource and training areas will be
announced over the next several weeks.

"Ensuring the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs), information exchange among health care providers and public health authorities, and redesign of workflows within health care settings all depend on having a qualified pool of workers," Dr. Blumenthal said. "The expansion of a highly skilled workforce developed through these programs will help health care providers and hospitals implement and maintain EHRs and use them to strengthen delivery of care."

The Community College program will establish intensive, non-degree training that can be completed in six months or less by individuals with some background in either health care or IT fields. Participating colleges will coordinate their efforts through five regional consortia that span the nation. Graduates of this training will fill a variety of roles that both assist health care practices during the critical process of deploying IT systems and support these practices on an ongoing basis.

The curriculum development program will make high quality educational materials available to the community colleges so these training programs can be established quickly to meet these workforce needs.

Any U.S. non-profit institution of higher learning currently engaged in providing training in health IT that is interested in drafting curriculum or establishing a consortium that includes community colleges may apply for the grants. Information about grant applications will be
available shortly at http://healthIT.HHS.gov/HITECHgrants.

"Critical to achieving the goal of the Heath Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act and supporting meaningful use of health IT is the availability of a skilled workforce that understands the unique technology and management needs within a clinical setting," added Dr. Blumenthal. "These newly funded programs are designed to equip the most qualified and advanced IT workforce in the world with the tools they need to modernize our health system."

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Community Health Works, Houston and Bibb County Schools, and HealthTeacher Partner to Teach Kids Health Literacy

(BUSINESS WIRE)--Community Health Works announced that teachers in Houston and Bibb County will be the first of seven central Georgia school districts to have access to HealthTeacher’s comprehensive K-12 online health education curriculum with the goal of improving the health literacy of children and teens in Central Georgia. The partnership will eventually encompass approximately 4,200 teachers in 105 participating schools across 7 districts.

This initiative supports Community Health Works’ mission of a regional integration of whole person healthcare, by fostering the health literacy of nearly 66,000 local children and teens. Community Health Works is sponsoring the HealthTeacher curriculum and teacher training for participating schools for three years as part of its efforts to improve the health of children and teens in the Central Georgia region.

”Our unique partnership with area schools and HealthTeacher combines the efforts and resources of the public and private sector to further one of Community Health Work’s primary strategic goals, improving consumer health and health literacy,” says Gregory J. Dent, President & CEO of Community Health Works. “HealthTeacher’s approach to health literacy on topics such as nutrition and exercise will be an excellent resource for students and teachers as our community takes a stand against childhood obesity and its harmful effects on life long health. We hope to expand this program in the future to include the entire twenty-five county region of central Georgia.”

Many high-risk health behaviors often are established during childhood and adolescence, which extend into adulthood. These behaviors can be addressed and prevented with proper education. According to the Centers for Disease Control in the 2007 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, Georgia students are at a equal or greater risk of current obesity, smokeless tobacco use, episodic heavy drinking as well as lifetime inhalant use when compared to U.S. students.

”We are proud to be working with two leaders in health advocacy and health literacy education to further our efforts to improve the health of our students and community,” says Sharon Patterson, Superintendent of Bibb County Schools. “The HealthTeacher curriculum is designed to be simple and easy to use for our educators. With lessons relevant to today’s world and aligned to National Health Education Standards, this program will help our teachers adopt health literacy education seamlessly into their everyday classroom practices.”

According to a 2009 report by Trust for America’s Youth and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, Georgia has the third highest obesity rate with 37.3% of Georgia’s children ages 10 -17 being obese or overweight. The study finds that in 30 states, the childhood obesity rate is reaching epidemic proportions with 30% of state's children being overweight.

“This partnership will empower our teachers and community to have a greater impact on the overall health of our students and support our current health education initiatives,” says David Carpenter, Superintendent of Houston County Schools. “One of the greatest values of this program is the comprehensive training and support our educators receive while adopting the HealthTeacher curriculum in the classroom. Community Health Works and HealthTeacher are not simply providing our teacher’s a valuable resource, but are helping them make small additions to their classroom practices that have the potential for significant life-long impact on the health of our students.”

Study's show that it's not just the prevalence of childhood obesity that should be a concern:

* 23.9% of children through age 17 have ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol.
* 32% of children through age 17 have been offered, sold or given an illegal drug while on school property
* 37.7% of children through age 17 have had at least one drink of alcohol on at least 1 day during the last 30 days before the survey
* 81% of children through age 17 ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day (CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007)

”Community Health Works’ embraces whole person healthcare which fits naturally with our program to improve health literacy and empower children to make positive health and wellness choices for their future success,” says Scott McQuigg, Chief Executive Officer of HealthTeacher. “Community Health Works is supporting teachers by underwriting the health education resources they need to make a positive lifetime impact on the health and wellness of children in Houston and Bibb Counties.”

The HealthTeacher curriculum covers 10 key topic areas designed to help students develop a knowledge and skills needed pursue healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. Designed for K-12 teachers and students, the HealthTeacher curriculum is aligned with the National Health Education Standards that requires instruction in five key areas:

* Health
* Nutrition
* Mental health
* Injury prevention
* Tobacco, alcohol and drug use

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Emory Launches Mentoring for Careers in Health

Emory has launched a PreHealth Mentoring Office this fall, designed to provide support and guidance to undergraduates planning to go on to medical school or other advanced studies in the field of health.

“This office will play a strategic advisory role — helping students identify their strengths and interests and to develop their passions,” says Preetha Ram, assistant dean of science in the Office of Undergraduate Education. “By providing mentorship as early as possible in their college careers, we can help students achieve better than expected results.”

For 2009-10, the primary focus will be on second-year students. In addition to advising students, the goals include creating community among prehealth students and expanding their opportunities to do internships, research and study abroad programs, and to shadow physicians and other health professionals.

A new Web site, www.emory.edu/ prehealth, provides links to events and other information.

Ram is serving as director of the PreHealth Mentoring Office, with the support of Paul Fowler, executive director of the Career Center, and Peter Sederberg, special assistant to the Office of the Provost.

“This is a pure partnership between the College, the Career Center and the Provost’s office,” says Fowler. “There has been growing interest in how to serve the prehealth population of students, because there are so many students interested, and it’s getting increasingly competitive.”

More than 500 students in the class of 2013 have declared themselves as prehealth majors, including a range of medical fields. About 200 students within every Emory class plan to apply to medical school. In November of 2008, Emory College Dean Bobby Paul assigned a task force to find ways to help support the efforts of these students to get accepted into top-tier medical schools.

The first goal of the task force was to launch a composite letter of recommendation process. The composite letter provides a cover letter for multiple letters of recommendation, summing up the accomplishments of a student in a format geared specifically for medical school applications.

After the composite letter process got up and rolling last spring, the task force began focusing on development of a PreHealth Mentoring Office. A series of undergraduate dialogues organized by Senior Vice Provost Santa Ono “were instrumental in raising awareness of the need for advising for pre-med students,” Ram says, adding that the dialogues “convinced those present, including Provost Earl Lewis, Dean Paul and Vice President for Campus Life John Ford of the need for immediate action.”

President Jim Wagner also supported the drive to create the office, and plans moved forward, guided by the input of students, faculty and administrators, from the college and the medical school.

“I think the PreHealth Mentoring Office is a fantastic idea that will help a lot of students,” says Lauren Spiegel, a senior pre-med major in the Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology program. As a freshman, Spiegel became involved in a mentoring program known as INSPIRE (Interdisciplinary Science Program for Integrating Research into Education), and she was among the students who helped make the composite letter program and the PreHealth Mentoring Office a reality.

“I’m really pleased that our research and efforts are paying off and it’s getting under way,” Spiegel says. “I think it’s really important for students to vouch for what we want, and to get involved in making positive changes happen. It’s exciting to have these opportunities to make an impact at Emory.”

By Carol Clark

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