Medical, nursing and pharmacy students team up to share healthy living tips with youth
Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation
For Immediate Release
July 23, 2014
Contact
Kendi Parvin, 608.442.3748
kendi.parvin@wismed.org
Madison –The Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation brought together a coalition of medical,
nursing and pharmacy students this afternoon to lead healthy living activities at the Boys & Girls
Club of Dane County site on Jenewein Road in Madison. One hundred youth aged 7 to 13
participated in the “Prescription for a Healthy You” program.
Students from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, School of
Nursing and School of Pharmacy planned and led activities, which were aimed at educating and
empowering kids to make healthy choices.
Rachel Bennett, MD, a Wisconsin Medical Society member and family physician with UW
Health-Fitchburg Clinic welcomed participants and kicked off the afternoon’s activities. The kids
then rotated through four different, hands-on sessions focused on physical activity, healthy eating
habits, heart health and the destructive effects of drugs and alcohol. The afternoon culminated
with a career exploration panel, allowing the youth to ask questions of the medical, nursing and
pharmacy students with the goal of encouraging them to consider careers in medicine or related
health careers.
“The goals of the Prescription for a Healthy You program are three-fold,” said Eileen Wilson,
the Foundation’s executive director. “First, it provides practical tips for children and their
families on making healthy living choices. Second, it encourages cooperation between future
doctors, nurses and pharmacists and offers them a meaningful volunteer opportunity. Third, and
perhaps most important, it exposes the children to young people pursuing health care careers
who can serve as role models and encourage the children to think that they, too, could go to
school to become a doctor, nurse or pharmacist.”
According to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, there is evidence to
suggest that “greater workforce diversity may lead to improved public health, primarily through
better interactions between patients and health care professionals.” Working with the Boys &
Girls Club program allows the Foundation to reach children from a variety of socioeconomic
backgrounds and expose them to some of the career possibilities in health care.
Each participant received a string backpack filled with a water bottle and healthy living tips to
share with his or her family. Additionally, UW Health gave each participant a small Bucky
Badger gear bag perfect for carrying the sunglasses provided by Humana.
The program was made possible by donations from physicians across the state and others who
support the Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation, including support from Humana.
A similar program was held last week at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee site on
West North Avenue in Milwaukee with activities led by a team of students from the Medical
College of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Nursing and Concordia
University Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.
Photos from the program will be posted on the Foundation’s Facebook page.
The Wisconsin Medical Society Foundation, chartered in 1955 as a charitable organization,
works to advance the health of the people of Wisconsin by supporting medical and health
education and statewide public health initiatives.
With nearly 12,500 members dedicated to the best interests of their patients, the Wisconsin
Medical Society is the largest association of medical doctors in the state and a trusted source for
health policy leadership since 1841.
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