Home & School Health

Committee Chair: Robert Murray, MD

Description of committee including activities: The Home & School Health Committee is focused on the development of sound health, nutrition and activity habits in the home and school environments. For the home, this includes education of the caregivers, as well as helping to provide resources for health professionals to ensure a good start in life. For the school, this includes working to promote a complete coordinated school health approach with a particular focus on school nutrition policy, physical education and sports-related issues. The committee's primary methods are education, advocacy, policy and resource development.

Current tasks pertaining to committee:

Legislation to improve Ohio's school nutirition HB 254
Statement on the value of recess in Ohio's schools
Promotion of the Ounce of Prevention materials to promote quality nutrition and activity habits during well-child visits for children from birth to 5 years old. Materials in English and Spanish.
Sport Shorts - a periodic publication for pediatricians and parents on pediatric sports-related topics.
Ohio Physical Activity Plan: A collaboration among several statewide organizations to define the steps necessary to improve Ohio's daily physical activity opportunities
Healthy People 2010 - A grant proposal to national AAP on a pilot project to study ways to improve the school nurse and medical home connection
Helping to develop a statewide School Health Advisory Council to offer assistance to Ohio Departments of Health and Education.

Meeting dates: The committee meets four times a year in person and teleconference as needed.

Web sites of interests:

Ohio Department of Health http://www.odh.state.oh.us
Action for Healthy Kids http://actionforhealthykids.org
Ohio Action for Health Kids http://www.ohioactionforhealthykids.org
Children's Hunger Allanice http://childrenshungeralliance.org
Snackwise nutrition rating tool for snack foods http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/gd/applications/snackwise/home.cfm
Center for Healthy Weight & Nutrition (for Ounce of Prevention Program materials) http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/healthyweight

Committee members: Melissa Arnold, Elise Berlan, Chris Bolling, Dorothy Bystrom, Joe Congeni, Jim Davis, Chuck Deitschel, Jim Fitzgibbon, Brad Gascoigne, Doug Hackenberg, Len Janchar, Gabi Karpowicz, Elizabeth Kelleher, Katie Koranyi, Diane Lemay, Mike Levine, Keith Loud, Mona Mansour, Robert Murray, Angie Norton, Jan Ritter, Shelly Roth, Laurie Scott, Troy Smurawa, Amy Sternstein, Olivia Thomas, Catherine Walsh, Andy Wapner, Dan Worthington.

New WIC Food and Formula Package

Sports Shorts - Guidelines for Pediatricians, Parents and Athletes
Concussions (Printed September 2009)

Reports