Palmetto Health, Columbia, South Carolina Public Schools and HealthTeacher partner to teach kids health literacy

48,000+ students from 80 public schools in Richland County school districts to have access to the leading online health curriculum

NASHVILLE, TN  – Palmetto Health, in partnership with HealthTeacher, announced today that more than 3,200 teachers in Richland County, South Carolina will have access to HealthTeacher’s comprehensive K-12 online health education curriculum with the goal of improving the health literacy of students in participating schools.

 The partnership with HealthTeacher supports Palmetto Health’s mission to improve the health and quality of life of the members of their community by promoting the health literacy of over 48,000 local students. Palmetto Health is underwriting the HealthTeacher curriculum and teacher training for participating schools for two years as part of its efforts to improve the health of children and teens in Richland County.

 Palmetto Health Senior Vice President Vince Ford said, “Through our programs and partnerships with local schools, Palmetto Health works hard to improve the health of the children in our community. Our partnership with HealthTeacher is a new and exciting way to support our teachers and make a real difference in children's lives.”  

 Many high-risk health behaviors often are established during childhood and adolescence, which extend into adulthood. These behaviors can be addressed and prevented with proper education. According to the Centers for Disease Control, South Carolina students are at a equal or greater risk of lifetime drug use, lifetime cigarette use, and obesity when compared to U.S. students. 

"Richland County School District One is committed to providing students with the tools they need to engage in healthy lifestyles. We are now better able to support its current classroom efforts by implementing HealthTeacher,” said Dr. Percy Mack. “A quality health education program encourages students to engage in healthy lifestyle practices that promote the skills and attitudes needed to positively influence academic achievement."

 According to a 2009 report by Trust for America's Youth and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, 33.7% of children ages 10 – 17 in South Carolina are considered overweight or obese. The study finds that in 30 states, the childhood obesity rate is reaching epidemic proportions with 30% of children being overweight. South Carolina has the 13th highest rate of overweight youth, ages 10-17.

 Other study's show that it's not just the prevalence of childhood obesity in South Carolina that should be a concern:

• 57.6% of children through age 17 have smoked, which is 7% higher than the national average.
• 26.6% have been offered, sold, or given an illegal drug by someone on school property.
• 82.9% of children through age 17 ate fruits and vegetables less than five times per day (CDC, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007)
  

“Richland Two teachers welcome new resources to help our students learn. This district strives to seamlessly integrate technology into the classroom. HealthTeacher is yet another tool which will simultaneously enhance the learning experience and provide students with valuable healthy behaviors," says Richland School District Two superintendent Dr. Steve Hefner.” 

The HealthTeacher curriculum covers 10 key topic areas designed to help students develop a knowledge and skills needed pursue healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. Designed for K-12 teachers and students, HealthTeacher's curriculum and resources are provided in two school districts in Richland County: Richland One and Richland Two. The HealthTeacher curriculum is aligned with the National Health Education Standards and South Carolina Standards for Health Enhancement that requires instruction in five key areas:  

• Health
• Nutrition
• Mental health
• Injury prevention
• Tobacco, alcohol and drug use

 About Palmetto Health

Palmetto Health is the region's largest, most comprehensive, locally owned, not-for-profit health care resource. The 1,138-bed system in Columbia, a JCAHO-accredited institution, has more than 8,400 employees and 1,000 physicians. The hospitals of Palmetto Health provide care for 70 percent of the residents of Richland County and more than 55 percent of the healthcare for the combined Richland/Lexington county area. The latest technology and treatment protocols go hand-inhand with quality patient care. Palmetto Health is composed of four outstanding hospitals-Palmetto Health Richland and Baptist in Columbia, and the Heart Hospital and Children's Hospital in Columbia.

About HealthTeacher

HealthTeacher is a leading provider of online health, wellness and prevention education resources for kindergarten through 12th grade and is used by more than 20,000 teachers nationwide. HealthTeacher provides teachers the resources, tools and background material to educate students about making healthy lifestyle choices through more than 300 lesson plans aligning to the National Health Education Standards. HealthTeacher helps establish community-based health education collaboratives by developing partnerships between healthcare organizations, businesses, community leaders and schools to address the growing issues affecting the health status of children. To learn more, visit www.healthteacher.com