Better health, better education

Health Fair & Student Expo

Anita L. RiddleFerris State UniversityBetter health, better education

1OverviewWhat: A health fair and student expo focusing on health, wellness, education, and physical activity. Where: Lakeview Square Mall, Battle Creek, MIWhen: April 21st, 2012, 10:00 am - 2:00pmHow: Through the use of collaborative leadership, a carefully selected multi-disciplinary team will research, organize and execute the project. Why: To provide the community an opportunity to learn about the health, wellness, educational, and physical activity resources available in Calhoun County.

Currently I am employed as a school nurse by the Calhoun County Public Health Department. Our School Wellness Program is funded (50%) by several area foundations and health care organizations. The other 50% is funded by the school district the school nurse is assigned to. The grant was received in 2011 and will hopefully be renewed with the proven success of the program. As an advocate for students it is my responsibility to promote wellness through assessment, education, and example. One way to provide this to a community is through a student expo and health fair. Through the use of innovative creative displays and demonstrations, information can be provided a fun and positive way. The organization and execution of this project will help demonstrate our commitment to our students and our community. The purpose of my project is two-fold. First, I want to give area students and families the opportunity and exposure to health education and area resources. Second, I want to offer students and educators of Harper Creek School district the chance to showcase their schools organizations, clubs and classroom projects. It will give Harper Creek educators, students, families, and the community the venue to network. Schools can gain from cooperation with other schools, health promotion, service providers, parents, experts, etc. and should be encouraged to enter such partnerships and networks (Gugglberger & Wolfgang, 2011, p. 43). Parental involvement is vital to a childs well-being, both mentally and physically. It is found parents who are involved in school health programs may become advocates and supporters for such programs (Birch & Hallock, 1998, p. 32). 2

For event information call 441-2320 or 441-2322 Free AdmissionBetter Health, Better EducationHealth Fair & Student Expo

April 21, 2012Lakeview Square Mall10:00 am - 2:00 pmParticipants Include:Calhoun County School NursesEstilo Activity CenterStar FitnessThe Battle Creek Blaze (Meet Players 10-12)Chiropractor Center of Battle CreekBronson Battle Creek Health SystemFamily Health Center of Battle CreekCCPHD Nurse Family Partnership & WICFirst Tee of Battle CreekThe Holistic Health CenterSummit PointeFull BlastThe Boys and Girls Club of Battle CreekKellogg Community College Student NursesBattle Creek Parks and RecreationCurves of Battle CreekCalhoun County Great Challenge Parent CoalitionParent to Parent of Southwest MichiganThe Y CenterDr. Mark McCullough-Family ChiropracticThe Battle Creek Farmers MarketMellaleuca ProductsMarshall Fire DepartmentMarshall Parks and RecreationMarshall Chamber of CommerceMarshall Swim ClubJan Martin Massage Therapist Come out and learn about the many health, wellness, educational, and recreational opportunities Calhoun County has to offer! Demonstrations

Come Dressed to Participate!

10:00 Rhythmic & Sound Therapy (Holistic Health Center)

10:30 Feldenkrais Yoga (Holistic Health Center)

11:00 Kids Zubatonic Class (Estilo Activity Center)

11:15 Dumbbell Fitness (Star Fitness)

11:30 Nancy Pifer Soloist (Harper Creek Student)

12:00 Harper Creek Jazz Band

12:30 Harper Creek High School Band

1:00 Harper Creek Middle School Choir

1:30 Substance Abuse (Summit Pointe)

Oaklawn Hospital

DisplaysActivitiesInformationEntertainmentFree Fun for the Family! Prize Donations Provided By:The Battle Creek BombersFamily FareThe Mole HoleZarzuelaMarshall Ghost ToursStage Coach InnPastrami JoesThe United Dairy Industry of Michigan

Learn about the School Wellness Program in your childs school. Provided in partnership with the Calhoun County Public Health Department.Calhoun County School Nurses

Student DisplaysBeadle Lake Elementary Wattles Park Elementary Harper Creek Robotics Team Harper Creek Swim Club Sonoma Elementary (Have your Temperature Taken by a Robot!)

3GoalTo provide a venue supporting health education, promotion, and wellness, while, promoting lifestyle changes and networking among students, families, educators and the community of Calhoun County. Success will be measured by the participation of the students and the community as evidenced by high quality displays and demonstrations with event attendance of 300+.

Project Objectives/Deliverables

The National Association of School Nurses endorses the American Nurses Association Scope and Standards of practice. Many of these scopes and standards support the implementation of a student expo and health fair. For instance, Standard 5B, Health Teaching and Health Promotion, strongly supports implementing my project. This competency includes, providing health teaching, and health promotion through the use of technologies to the community in a variety of settings (American Nurses Association, 2010, p. 41). A literature review has revealed peer reviewed articles supporting the use of a health fair to provide health education and wellness promotion. A health fair provides a useful forum for health promotion and disease prevention (Wolf, 1986, p. 193). 4Safety & QualityQuality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternativesWilliam Foster

This event is targeted to improve the communitys knowledge of educational, health and recreational resources in the greater Calhoun County. My project takes place in a community setting making it a much different environment than the long term or acute care setting, which Joint Commission focuses on. The project will not be regulated by any national or state regulations. The projects success will not affect funding, nor will my organization be fined if the project is deemed a failure.

It is somewhat difficult to relate safety issues to it. After reviewing the Joint Commissions National Patient Safety Goals, I have identified the following areas of safety related to my project. The prevention of infection (NPSG.07.01.01 handwashing) will be one area of safety addressed during the health fair. There are health clinics, hospitals and healthcare professionals to provide this information. There is a display being provided by the nursing students on hand washing, which has been taught in the elementary schools. Also (NPSG.15.01.01), the identification of patients at risk for suicide is being addressed. An organization, Summit Pointe, which treats adults, adolescents, and children with behavioral issues will be giving a presentation on substance abuse. I have also obtained child identification kits to be given away.

The event meets criteria to qualify for a quality management project. QM is based on the philosophy that actions should be right the first time and that improvement is always possible (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 391). The improvement in the case of my project is increased public awareness related to available resources in the surrounding area. Any project should reflect quality in the finished product. A quality event will reflect on the Calhoun County Public Health Department, the Harper Creek School District and me personally and professionally. Quality can be defined by stakeholders, project team, project sponsor, industry standards, or a combination of these and more (Heldman, 2011, p. 183). My team is excited and taking pride in the event and their contributions. The stakeholders (the participants), are trusting the team to organize, market and deliver a quality event. We have a project scope and plan in place as a guideline or path to the success of our event. We have established a set of goals and this also will help us maintain quality in this project.

Quality will be addressed through the displays such as diabetes, asthma, nutrition, all which contribute to quality health. The event will help educate the community on health, wellness, educational, and recreational resources available in Calhoun County.

5Project Process & Status Project Scope and Plan completed Research completed Approval for project received Team recruited 30 participants Demonstration schedule filled Site visit completed Advertisements are completed and dates scheduled Addition of another team member Contact participants-finalize details & set up (4-15-12) Decorate and set up display tables (4-20-12) Execute event (4-21-12) CELEBRATION LUNCH! (4-27-12)

The Better Health, Better Education event is growing daily. The event is growing so rapidly I have added another school nurse to the team. Many of the participants were coming from a nearby town. There was a need to add another member in order manage them and give them a local direct contact. I chose the school nurse from that town to join the team. She not only works in the town, but is a resident which has also given us access to additional participants. The addition of her to my team also lightened my load to oversee the project and provide better leadership. The presence of strong leadership sets the tone for achievement (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 39).

There are currently 30 participants who have made a firm commitment. Meijers will be addressing nutrition; Oaklawn Hospital has asked for 8 tables and will include asthma in children. Bronson Battle Creek Hospital has chosen diabetes as a focus. Recently we acquired Post Cereals, and they contributed 500 large boxes of cereal and other items to give away. Sprout Urban Farms is an organic food farm and is going to speak about saving rainwater and have children plant sunflower seeds. We also have chiropractors, a massage therapist, 2 area park and recreation organizations, the Y-Center, a dental center, WIC, a local fire and rescue team, The Boys and Girls Club, a childrens activity center, Summit Pointe (adolescent mental health), and several more. Demonstrations are schedule for every half hour. We have a rhythmic therapy demo, a kids Zumbatonic class, yoga, and a substance abuse presentation. Student contributions include; the jazz band, choirs, 3 solos, and the robotics team. Area businesses have also donated prizes to be given away during the event. We also have 20 cases of bottled water donated by Family Fare to share with our attendees. The local semi-pro baseball team has donated tickets to be given away. We have found the community to be very generous.

We had a meeting with the mall event coordinator to determine space, layout, outlet access and equipment needs. I then scheduled a follow-up meeting with the school nurse team members to review the overall event and determine who is going to be responsible for set up of the event. We also brainstormed for any unforeseen needs or supplies we will need. The first article was placed in the local shopper guides. It was approached as a save the date and an invite to participate. The two shoppers chosen cover the entire Calhoun County area. Space has also been reserved for advertisements on April 12th and April 19th. I am personally handling the marketing of the event as I have experience as a Tactical Marketing Manager, and have several contacts available to me.

I feel the project is on track. The team is excited about the quality of participants we have recruited. We continue to follow the timeline determined by the Project Scope and Plan. There have been adjustments along the way to accommodate the external risks we have encountered. It seems the days we may be somewhat frustrated, we receive a call from a potential participant and this gives us cause to celebrate. There will continue to be changes along the way. I anticipate even on the day of the event we will find areas we will need to adapt to fit the moment. Currently I have 80.5 hours of time invested. 6Professional Issues Be honest Respect others Communicate clearly Actively listen Lead by example Be accountable

Professionalism is important to the leadership process. It is exhibited in the way a person acts, speaks, dresses and interacts with others. Professionalism is all encompassing the way a manager interacts with personnel, other disciplines, and families reflects a professional philosophy (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 64). I once had a manager who always told us perception is reality. I encountered a test in professionalism on day one of my project. During a staff meeting I introduced my project to the group. Immediately one of the senior nurses spoke up and stated it had been tried before and it didnt work. After that comment no one stepped up to support my project. I thanked them for listening and spoke with my manager after the meeting adjourned. I had already made up my mind I could be successful with this project. My manager agreed to back me. As my project has progressed four of the nurses have now stepped up and offered their assistance. It was tempting to just tell them no I didnt need you, however I have since given them tasks to complete and so far so good. 7Lessons Learned

Always have a plan B (and maybe a C)

Careful team selection is imperative

Co-workers want to join the team once they realize it is going to be successful

Sometimes you need to set limits

I have learned there are differences between being a manager and being a leader. The leader not the manager, inspires others to work at their highest level (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 39). Although my manager gave this project her blessing, she has not encouraged the rest of the organization to support it. Since I have prepared the ad, others outside of my project team are stepping forward to be a part of it. I actually added one of my co-workers to the team officially 2 weeks ago. She has was given a task and allowed to have some leeway with it. She made some decisions that were not hers to make. I have had to address this and have set some limitations. Team members need to be able to make decisions, but some need to have clear boundaries set. Everybody wants at least some power, and everybody wants to feel he or she is in control (Yoder-Wise, 2011, p. 355). Part of the control issue in this case may stem from her late membership on the team. However she has made many contributions to the project so I had to handle this very tactfully. I usually have a plan B in my back pocket, and this project has made me see the value of a plan C at times! 8ReferencesAmerican Nurses Association. (2010). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice. Silver Spring, MA: Nursesbooks.org.Birch, D., & Hallock, B. (1998). School nurses perceptions of parental involvement in school health. The Journal of School Nursing, 14(3), 32-37.Foster, W. (n.d.). Finest Quotes. Retrieved from http://www.finestquotes.com/select_quote-category-Quality-page-0.htmGugglberger, L., & Wolfgang D. (2011). Capacity building in and for health promoting schools: Results from a qualitative study. Health Policy, 101, 37-43.The Joint Commission. (2012). National patient safety goals. Retrieved from http://www.jointcommission.org/standards_information/npsgs.aspxWolf, Z. (1986). A health fair for school-age children presented by registered nurses. Journal of School Health, 56(5), 192-193.Yoder-Wise, P. (2011). Leading and managing in nursing (5th ed.). St Louis, MO: Elsevier/Mosby.

Thank-you!9