Leon County SHAC

Your Leon County Schools Health Services team is working hard to learn best practices and share best practices with our partner agencies, Department of Education, Department of Health, Action for Healthy Schools, Florida Healthy Kids, KidCare, MANY other organizations and Medicaid Managed Care Organizations like UnitedHealthcare to ensure that our students are healthy and ready to learn on a regular basis! Get involved to see how you can contribute!

Good listen.

A Mother Of A Son With Autism Thanks A Stranger Who Helped: 'Nobody Does What You Do' At StoryCorps, Ellen Hughes tells Keith Miller, who also has a son with autism, how much it meant to her when he comforted her son Walker on a difficult visit to the ER last year.

We welcome Heidi Copeland as the new Leon County School Health Advisory Committee Chair! Heidi brings a wealth of knowledge in healthy programs for school aged children. I'm pleased to have been a part of bringing her on board many years ago! We will all undoubtedly benefit from her service as our chair.

When we think about school health, we need to think about more than just asthma, diabetes, allergies and BMI (to name only a few). We need to also think about providing and encouraging safe alternatives to risky behavior. Graduation time is a huge opportunity for us. If you're not familiar with Project Graduation, you SHOULD
be!
Trust me, when I helped with Leon's Project Graduation last year, I did not have high expectations because I assumed the kids wouldn't come because it wasn't a "real" party. As it turned out, that was the most amazing event ever! From 11:00 PM to 4:00 AM the seniors never had a dull moment with all of the free activities going on all night.
Side Note: Last year, my "too cool for school" 10th grade son volunteered with me (or voluntold with me) to manage the prizes, and afterwards he said, "I can't WAIT to go to my Project Graduation." I was so happy and proud of what we'd done.
Get involved! Or at least get your kids involved. They are worth it!

It's time for a SHAC Blitz! Please share the Leon County School Health Advisory Committee FB page with your FB friends! We want this to be one of the key resources for families in our area, but we need people to follow our page in order to make it useful. Don't be shy! Share!

As a member of the Florida Asthma Coalition I'm encouraging you to share the opportunity below. Surveys only work if enough people respond.
YOUR SHAC WANTS TO KNOW IF WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE! PLEASE RESPOND TO THIS POST IF YOU WERE ABLE TO SHARE THIS OPPORTUNITY WITH ANY PARTICULAR GROUP (don't need individual names!).

If you are a patient, parent, or caregiver of someone with asthma, we have an exciting research opportunity for you.
The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America is creating a training program for people with asthma. Our project will increase the knowledge and skills of people with asthma to help inform their own healthcare decisions.
But first, we need your help. We are surveying people with asthma to:
• Learn what's important to you
• Find out about your interests and needs
• Figure out what you want to know about asthma research
Your answers will help us gain a better understanding of asthma research and how it applies to your daily life. It will also help us create a training program for people with asthma.
Take our needs assessment by April 15, 2016. You can take it on your computer or smartphone.
If you have questions or concerns about participating, contact Sarah Young at [email protected] or (202) 466-7643 ext. 252.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/XT9TW6D

PCORI Needs Assessment Survey Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.

If you are involved with any Leon County schools please make sure they are aware of this opportunity. As of last week they only had two breakfast applications and about 15 physical activity applications -statewide! As an FYI, this opportunity is perfect for those school who are increasing recess. They can use it for equipment, education, incentives, etc. to support recess (which results in increased physical activity minutes). This funding is practically there for the taking!

School Grants, Awards, and Celebrations, Oh My! Are you looking for funding for your school wellness initiatives for next school year (2016-2017)? You’re in luck! Action for Healthy Kids is now accepting School Grants for Healthy Kids applications for the 2016-2017 school year. Consider applying for School Breakfast or Game On Grants (for physica…

Please take a moment to share Leon County SHAC with your FB friends! We'd like to make this the go to quick access resource for fun and exciting news about all things health related going on in our great schools, but we need followers. Our goal is to hit 200 followers before the end of the school year!