Memorial Hospital East issued the following announcement on Aug. 6
BJC School Outreach and Youth Development, on behalf of Memorial Hospital Belleville and Memorial Foundation, provided health education lessons to 1,175 kindergarten through 12th-grade students in 2019-2020. The initiative focused on improving nutrition education through classroom-based programs for students living in Memorial Hospital Belleville’s service area.
Both physical activity and nutrition lessons were taught to help students learn and develop skills for healthier living. The initiative began as part of the implementation plan for Memorial’s Community Health Needs Assessment to improve the health of youth in the region.
In 2019 and 2020, the schools included Central Junior High, West Junior High, Ellis Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, and Harmony Elementary. “The students are engaged and are fun to teach,” Katie Hoehn, BJC health educator/registered dietitian/nutritionist said.
Great reception
Based on program evaluations completed by students and school staff, the health education lessons made a great impact. One student said, “I learned the nutrition labels are changing, and I can help my family eat better.”
Staff and teachers noted that students were asking more questions about their lunches, while another teacher said, “I need to be a better, more healthy role model for my class.”
COVID-19 interrupted the in-person classroom programs and provided an opportunity to recreate lessons for the new virtual classroom platforms. “Virtual learning challenged our team to be creative in changing the lessons but has been a lot of fun to explore new ideas,” Devon Murray, BJC health educator/registered dietitian/ nutritionist said.
The School Outreach team created pre-recorded, plug-and-play lessons for teachers during this time of blended learning for both at-home students and in person. All the content is ready to go! Students take an online pre- and post-test, and each lesson is a recorded presentation with supplemental worksheets, games, or additional videos. These can be sent as links, played in a classroom, or teachers could play the videos during a virtual session and send the supplemental links.
Explore Health, Fast Food Facts, and Heart Health are ready for schools. Both pre-recorded and virtual classroom presentations are available. Contact our team to request options for pre-recorded and virtual classroom presentations. The School Outreach team members are excited to provide programs to help students make healthier choices.
For additional information about BJC School Outreach and Youth Development and the programs we provide, visit bjcschooloutreach.org or contact the School Program line at (314) 286-0460.
Health Programs
BJC School Outreach and Youth Development began in 1991 with classroom-based health education programs including:
Original source can be found here.
Source: Memorial Hospital Eas
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