Owensboro Health - School Health Partnership

Overview

Findings of a community needs assessment led Owensboro Health, formerly Owensboro Medical Health System, to initiate efforts to improve the health of school age children. The School Health Partnership (SHP) was formed to improve the health of children in Daviess County by conducting health assessments of children, analyzing the data, and putting appropriate programs in place to make improvements. Through this partnership, Owensboro Health provides nurses and health technicians for the Owensboro Catholic Consolidated Schools and funding for the school nurse program in the Daviess County and Owensboro public school systems. The majority of health risks occur because of poor health habits developed early in life. The SHP aims to begin teaching healthy habits while students are young so that these habits will remain with them for life.

Impact

Owensboro Health provides health assessments to 12,000 students in grades K through 8 every other year at no cost to local school systems. Initial evaluations identified four significant risks: obesity, exposure to second-hand smoke, personal safety (wearing bicycle helmets and seatbelts), and poor nutrition (not eating breakfast, eating unhealthy meals and snacks). Based on that information, the SHP designed educational programs and interventions intended to reduce health risks.

• Nurses provide classroom instruction on health issues including nutrition, safety, the benefits of exercise, and the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and drugs.
• In 2001, the SHP initiated the “Fit for Life” program in all middle and high schools. This program is a comprehensive research-based health and wellness approach to physical education that emphasizes cardiovascular exercise and strength training, rather than traditional team sports. The program is intended to keep students active for 30 to 60 minutes a day.
• Safety programs promote seatbelt and helmet usage, and focus on the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol, and hazards of smoking and tobacco use.
• On-site health technicians provide routine medical attention for students with minor scrapes and wounds, aches and pains.
• On-site nurses focus their attention on teaching students how to manage chronic diseases such as asthma and diabetes or debilitating conditions.

Challenges/success factors

Proper nutrition is a serious problem for the community, with 22 percent of school-age children classified as obese, and inactivity among children leading to type 2 diabetes, elevated blood pressure, asthma, and high cholesterol. Owensboro Health involved local and state officials in advocating for changes in school foods that resulted in soda being removed from school vending machines, school lunches being improved, and the schools now providing a free healthy breakfast. The SHP is helping students improve their nutrition and fitness. Health interventions have helped reduce absenteeism, thereby improving academic performance. Seat belt usage has improved for age groups K-8; the use of helmets has also increased but not as significantly. Smoking rates for students plummeted from 21 percent in 1997 to 2 percent in 2009. At the same time, only 7 percent of students reported alcohol use in 2009, compared with 10 percent in 1997.

Future direction/sustainability

Funding for the SHP comes from members of the partnership, community gifts and donations, grant programs and the Green River District Health Department. In 2007, the SHP raised nearly $750,000 to equip every middle and high school with extensive fitness centers, heart rate monitors, and assessment systems for use in physical education classes. Owensboro Health contributed an additional $372,000, bringing the total equipment investment to $1,122,000 to ensure that all the middle and high schools had the resources necessary to help students become “Fit for Life.” Since 1996, Owensboro Health has invested $4.1 million to cover assessments, salaries, capital purchases, and other expenses. In 2007 alone, Owensboro Health contributed $400,000, and the Owensboro Health Foundation has raised another $400,000 to benefit the program.

Advice to others

Other communities looking to develop this type of school health program must understand the value in collaboration and the importance of building networks. It is critical to begin with a firm understanding with the school systems involved as to what the partnership will include and the extent of partner involvement. It is also important to determine decision-makers and maintain strong lines of communication for all aspects of the program. To get the program off the ground, it is essential to have buy-in from parents, school board members, teachers, and the community in general. Stakeholders must understand the importance of a school health partnership and the benefits it will reap not only for their own children, but for the entire community and future generations.

Contact: Gordon Wilkerson
Public Relations Specialist
Telephone: 270-685-7194
E-mail: marketing@owensborohealth.org