 When I became a mother, it didn’t take long for me to realize just how much I had to learn. A simple trip to the grocery store with a 3-year-old requires graduate level education in virtually every known subject. A quiet moving automobile with everyone strapped in was the perfect captive environment for my little sponge eager to soak up everything about the world around her.
What our children learn today will affect the world we live in tomorrow. Reaching out with information and activities to encourage healthy living while they are young will ultimately improve their wellbeing well beyond childhood.
FirstHealth understands that “caring for kids” is an investment in the future. With interest compounded daily over the course of a lifetime, the potential gain is virtually incalculable.
Children are wriggling bundles of energy and curiosity. It’s a combination that often overlooks limits and boundaries resulting in unexpected visits to FirstHealth Emergency Departments.
Special programs in Moore and Montgomery counties offer first-graders a glimpse into the mysteries of a hospital visit. “We hope that after coming to our event the children are not as afraid of the hospital, because they have a better idea of what might happen during their visit,” says Barbara Allred, Patient Education coordinator for FirstHealth Corporate Education.
More than 1,100 public, private and homeschooled students descend on Moore Regional Hospital for one week during the spring of each year. For these youngsters, the annual Teddy Bear Fair is a chance to explore a variety of health-related topics in a fun, learning environment.
“We set up six booths in the Conference Center. Each focuses on a different aspect of medical care such as Imaging, Laboratory Services, stitches and injections, patient transport, dental care and vital signs,” says Allred.
FHC staff members use teddy bears to demonstrate procedures. For example, the Imaging booth actually shows X-rays of a stuffed bear as well as those of a snake that swallowed a light bulb. In addition, students enjoy a special visit from John Theodore, the fair mascot.
The Seven Lakes Kiwanis Club assists with the MRH event each year. All participants receive a goody bag brimming with treasures commemorating their visit.
Similarly, each spring during National Hospital Week, the PAVE Club at Montgomery Memorial Hospital in Troy hosts first-grade students for the Teddy Bear Affair. The event touches approximately 400 young people from public and private schools each year.
Delighted by the antics of “Boo Boo Bear,” an accident-prone bear, the students learn through laughter. In anticipation of summer break, “Boo Boo” and MMH staff members engage in skits depicting various summer activities in order to promote safety and accident prevention. The young people are exposed to information about the hospital and its services in an entertaining atmosphere.
“Boo Boo is not a good role model,” says Jane Haywood, PAVE Club coordinator. “She definitely shows the children what happens when you don’t follow the safety rules.”
The MMH Auxiliary co-sponsors the event, helping fund T-shirts for all participants.
Thanks to a new community program, many local children are exchanging video games and TV for seeds, soil and salad greens. The program, designed to promote healthy eating habits, introduces children to gardening concepts and offers a unique educational opportunity for promoting active outdoor living.
“We wanted to encourage healthy eating and physical activity,” says Melissa Watford, a health educator with FirstHealth Community Health Services. “It seemed to make sense that we could combine the two if we got into gardening.”
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FirstGarden, located behind the Armory in Southern Pines, is close to the Boys & Girls Club and to after school and summer programs offered by the Town of Southern Pines. During the summer of 2006, 135 children and 15 adult volunteers tended eight plant beds. The students attended 25 educational sessions, learning about soil testing, insects and food preparation among other topics.
The intergenerational project involves community volunteers and Master Gardeners through N.C. Cooperative Extension. With the assistance of these seasoned growers, the students nurture plants from seeds, manage the gardens and harvest the crops. Plans for the future include a Junior Master Gardeners’ program for interested students and selling FirstGarden produce through the local Farmer’s Market.
For 180 days a year, large groups of children come together in a special environment designed for learning—school. What better place to introduce information about good health?
FirstHealth has partnered with area schools to promote awareness and understanding about healthy eating and physical activity. It’s an effort to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity through simple, yet effective, lifestyle changes.
Just as no children are exactly alike, each participating school has adopted unique methods of presenting information. “We have provided resources and tools to Moore, Montgomery, Hoke and Richmond school systems and classroom teachers,” says Amy Hamilton, Outreach manager and Operation Healthy Kids coordinator for FirstHealth Community Health Services. “The creativity they have used in sharing the materials is inspiring.”
Through a grant from the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund, each of the schools received special curricula and other tools to incorporate healthy habits into each school day. The materials creatively integrate healthy living into subjects like math, reading and science, accentuating the N.C. Department of Public Instruction’s standards of learning.
The programs also encourage kids to get “wild about wellness” through special field day programs and learning opportunities including grocery store tours, where they learn about food labels and making healthy choices. |
 
When school health nurses identified dental care as the number one health problem for children in our communities, FirstHealth responded. Since 1998, three dental care centers have served more than 13,000 children in Hoke, Moore and Montgomery counties.
“It’s not only about filling cavities,” says Sharon Nicholson Harrell, DDS, MPH, director of the FirstHealth Dental Dental Care Centers. “It’s about filling a big need in our community.”
“How can we help a child learn when all he can think about is a toothache?” says Dr. Larry Upchurch, deputy superintendent for Moore County Schools.
Located in Troy, Raeford and Southern Pines, the FirstHealth Dental Care Centers provide care for children ages 4 up to 18 who are medically underserved or have Medicaid insurance. In addition to routine dental care, the centers promote disease prevention, early detection and intervention. They also provide care for dental emergencies.
 When babies are admitted to the Clarke Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Moore Regional Hospital, they are tiny reminders of the fragile nature of life. The Level III Clarke NICU accepts infants born at 28 weeks and above. According to Beth Michelow, R.N., the hospital’s assistant director for NICU and Pediatrics, most are premature. Some have respiratory problems and may require mechanical ventilation support.
In a unique environment, parents, volunteers and staff become a family working toward the well-being of their smallest members.
Like most close families, each year, the Clarke NICU sponsors a reunion. “It’s a time to celebrate life,” says Dorothy Rogers, R.N., a 37-year veteran Moore Regional Hospital nurse.
“The families enjoy coming back to see the staff members who helped them through a difficult time, and we love to see the children thriving, growing and happy.”
More than 100 “graduates” attend the annual event held in the fall of the year. The celebration offers fun activities for the children as well as an opportunity for remembering and sharing. Each child is recognized with a T-shirt among other goodies.
 The recent release of the U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on the effects of secondhand smoke further emphasizes the need to eliminate tobacco use among young people. FirstHealth, in partnership with area schools, health departments and other community-based organizations is helping young people “kick butt” when it comes to tobacco.
Through the development of a Smoke-Free Sandhills network and youth empowerment programs such as Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU), efforts are under way to support 100% Tobacco-Free Schools throughout the region, establish Tobacco-Free Zones in recreation and worship settings, and improve the number of dining establishments that discourage indoor smoking.
For more information on any of the programs highlighted in this story, please call (800) 213-3284.
What do hospital administrators, physicians and basketballs have in common? A fun night of crazy competition designed to raise funds for a special charity for kids.
“Hoops for Kids” began in 2005 as an effort to demonstrate community spirit and raise funds to support the Boys & Girls Club of the Sandhills. Raymond Washington, M.D., a general surgeon, and marketing director Betty Dew, both of Pinehurst Surgical, joined forces with FirstHealth of the Carolinas administrators to organize the special event.
Dr. Washington was a basketball standout during his undergraduate days at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
 Held each year during March, the event pits the “White Coats,” a team of area physicians, against “FirstStealth,” comprised of representatives from FirstHealth’s administration and staff. Capitalizing on the traditional, friendly rivalry between doctors and administrators, the event has proved itself popular among the families, friends and patients of the physicians as well as the FirstHealth staff and their loved ones.
The inaugural game in 2005 attracted a standing-room-only crowd at the Southern Pines Recreation Center and raised nearly $4,000. Last year, the event relocated to the larger Pinecrest High School gym and raised more than $5,000.
Teamwork is critical to the overwhelming success of the event. Area medical practices including Pinehurst Surgical, Pinehurst Medical Clinic, Sandhills Emergency Physicians, Pinehurst Nephrology Associates and Moore Family Care are active participants. In addition, FirstHealth actively promotes the program through its Corporate Communications Department.
David Woronoff, publisher of The Pilot newspaper in Southern Pines and also chairman of the Boys & Girls Club Board and a member of the FirstHealth Board of Directors, assists with planning and publicity for the event.
Planning is already under way for the third annual “Hoops for Kids” event to be held on March 1, 2007. Look for more information in the months ahead.
By the way, the “White Coats” won the first game in 2005, but “FirstStealth” took the title in 2006. |
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