Childhood Wellness Task Force
InCommons Collaboration Challenge
Childhood Wellness Task Force
In 2008, representatives from Springfield Medical Center, Springfield Public Schools and St. Raphael Catholic School joined together to tackle the issue of childhood obesity. Initially the group was called the Childhood Obesity Task Force. Eventually the name was changed to the Childhood Wellness Task Force. These groups did not normally work on projects together, but it became evident that the whole community would need to work together to tackle an issue like childhood obesity.
Contributor
Becky TonnOct 14, 2010
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About You
About You
First Name
Becky
Last Name
Tonn
Country
United States, MN, Brown County
About Your Organization
Organization
Springfield Medical Center
Organization Website
Organization Phone
Organization Address
Organization Country
United States, MN, Brown County
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Your Story
Collaboration Title
Childhood Wellness Task Force
Country your work focuses on
United States, MN, Brown County
Describe your locally-based collaboration and the problem it sought to address
In 2008, representatives from Springfield Medical Center, Springfield Public Schools and St. Raphael Catholic School joined together to tackle the issue of childhood obesity. Initially the group was called the Childhood Obesity Task Force. Eventually the name was changed to the Childhood Wellness Task Force. These groups did not normally work on projects together, but it became evident that the whole community would need to work together to tackle an issue like childhood obesity.
Tell us about the community in which this collaboration took place
Springfield is a town of about 2, 200 people in southwestern Minnesota. A blue-collar community rooted in agriculture, the annual median household income is about $35,000.
Issue Selector
Partnership
Who was involved in co-creating or implementing your collaboration (other organizations, leaders, community members, etc.)?
Medical center: administrator, dietician, physical therapist, nurse practitioner
Public school: elementary and high school principals, school nurse, food service manager, PE teacher
St. Raphael Catholic School: principal, food service manager, PE teacher
Community: grocery store owner, parent, day care director, member of city park/facilities board
To what extent does your collaboration involve partnerships that are outside or cross traditional organizational or sector boundaries?
The original task force members were from entities that traditionally don't work together - the two schools in town and the medical center. A school board member at the time was a physician and was instrumental in getting these groups together.
As the groups tackled more complex issues, they realized the need to include members from the business community, parents, and city to build support.
Innovation
What makes your locally-based collaboration innovative and unique?
Surrounding communities have expressed an interest in replicating this committee because of its success. When we talk about what we did, they are amazed that we brought together such diverse interests. The response is usually, "We wouldn't be able to get all those people to work together and show up for meetings."
It's wonderful that we have a group of influencers that are committed to change that impacts the health of our youth. Everyone on the committee is on board with the mission and willing to do their part to end childhood obesity in Springfield.
Our situation is also unique in that we can easily engage members like the grocery store owner - there's only one in town! I think this would be a bigger challenge in a larger community.
Did you take risks in establishing this collaboration? Explain
The task force was initially formed as a short-term committee to address some concerns about the food and beverages being offered at school (lunches, vending machines, concession stands, etc.) Since it didn't seem like the group would be working together for a long period of time, there may have not been as much conflict as there might have been otherwise.
How did this collaboration differ from the normal way of doing your work?
Typically, the issue of childhood obesity was looked at by individual entities. So the school would think about lunch. The medical center would address the issue at physicals.
Neither entity was addressing the issue from a community perspective. Nor were they thinking about the resources that could be shared to put together a more holistic approach to the wellness of our youth.
Impact
How do you know your collaboration has been effective?
Key accomplishments:
In-house food service at public school. Dietitian provided input into menus.
Snack program developed at public school.
Dietician and physical therapist visit classrooms each year. Discuss a theme such as eating a healthy breakfast or bone health.
Medical center staff write bi-monthly article for the paper stressing healthy habits.
Two family events were held to encourage families to be active together – sledding and disc golf.
Healthy Elements program was implemented at the grocery store.
High school design class made posters with high school athletes and elementary students participating together in sports. These posters are displayed around town and at school.
For third year, BMIs of elementary students are being tracked.
What progress or impact has been made?
Surveys show improved knowledge among students regarding healthy food/beverage choices and decreasing screen time (increasing activity).
Anecdotally, children seemed thinner in the second year (as observed by school staff and medical center staff), and the data backed that up. A discrepancy in how BMIs were calculated year-to-year, however, makes it difficult to know exact impact.
Next Steps
How would you go about continuing, expanding, or replicating this collaboration?
The task force has a strong membership base. We wish to continue this, bringing in other community members who show interest. We have accomplished many goals, and would like to continue the programs we've already helped establish - healthy snack program, in-house lunch program, posters, etc.
Some of our goals for the future (see below) are going to require additional funding and volunteer help. To date, most of the work has been done within the scope of individual committee member's job duties (ex. physical therapist talking at school). As we try to expand, we are going to not only need more funding but also more "manpower" to accomplish our goals. Our group meets just once a month for 1/2 hour, so this is going to require some extra work from committee members.
We also have had interest in starting similar programs in surrounding communities. Again, this would require additional time. We also need help in thinking about how a task force like this one would look in a town bigger than Springfield.
Describe the current stage of implementation and desired next steps
Each year we are encouraged by our success, but know there are so many more things we could be doing to promote a healthy lifestyle in our community. We want to continue doing the projects we already have underway, but moving forward, the group has several goals that would require additional funding to implement:
1.Implement an effective and efficient way to measure BMIs from year to year and to track individual student progress.
From the beginning, this committee has thought that BMIs of elementary students would be good measures of success, specifically the reduction of BMIs in overweight elementary students. Initial measures showed that 39% of Springfield elementary students were overweight (as measured by BMI). A common statistic for a national average is 1 in 3, so we knew that Springfield children seemed to be heavier than the national average.
In the first year of gathering BMIs, the CDC web site was used to calculate BMIs. This was a tedious process and made it difficult to track a child's progress over time. In the second year, the medical center purchased a software program to aid in this process. However, it was discovered that the software program calculated BMIs differently than the CDC web site. We have been unable to account for the discrepancy in how the BMIs are calculated so are unsure of the exact impact that has been realized to date.
2.Track improvement in fitness level, specifically as it is measured for the Presidential Fitness Award.
3.Assist other communities in creating their own Childhood Wellness Task Force. There has been a lot of interest in what we are doing but we lack the resources to replicate the effort and would need help in knowing how to make it work in a bigger community.
4.Provide additional opportunities for families to participate in activities together. In addition to active events like sledding, we'd like to offer cooking classes.
5.Work with the YWCA of Greater Mankato to establish a Girls on the Run program in Springfield.
6.Create an after-school program for elementary students that promotes physical activity and healthy choices.
7.Expand our scope to include preschool children and their families.
Becky Tonn updated this Competition Entry. - 580 days ago | |
Becky Tonn updated this Competition Entry. - 580 days ago | |
Becky Tonn submitted this idea. - 581 days ago |
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