12939 Brandywine.qxd - Brandywine Health Foundation

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Kimberly Hoferer, an Octorara High School physical education and health teacher, with student Rebecca Shenk. Opposite page: Nurse Christina Baker checks on Chanel Torres and her baby, Nahsier Buchanan. How can the foundation leverage relatively small grants to improve children’s health in a big way? We can do it by partnering with our local schools and supporting the use of nationally recognized, evidence-based models. Our partnerships with schools include the Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) approach promoted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the Coatesville and Octorara school districts and the Communities That Care programs that target substance abuse and problem behaviors in youths in the Downingtown and Octorara areas. Nationally recognized, evidence-based programs we support include the Nurse-Family Partnership and the Maternal and Child Health Consortium of Chester County’s (MCHC) Healthy Start program, both of which target young, low-income pregnant teens to improve birth outcomes. Addressing the growing epidemic of childhood obesity is a major foundation goal. The foundation is funding two West Chester University health education professors, Tammy James, Ph.D., and Bethann Cinelli, Ed.D., to help the Coatesville and Octorara school districts develop and implement Coordinated School Health Programs. Says James, “It’s a comprehensive approach that involves faculty, staff, parents and kids” — all of whom will be represented this school year on health councils in each participating school. CSHP also addresses a federal mandate requiring each school district to create its own wellness policy regarding both physical activity and nutrition issues. “I see this as not just impacting our students and staff but the wider community,” says Marie Walker, Ed.D., principal of Gordon Elementary School. “We’ve already had parents in for line dancing and healthy snacks. The kids buy into this because it’s fun, and it brings in parental involvement that we so need in our schools.” At Octorara Area High School, the wellness policy has already resulted in the establishment of a walking club that will be expanded this year; student photos of faculty members sporting milk “mustaches”; and a greater variety of healthy food choices in the cafeteria, including a switch from whole milk to 1 percent and skim milk. “Everyone can’t participate in competitive sports,” says Tammy Swink, R.N., B.S.N., the high school nurse. “Thanks to the walking club, which was the students’ idea, we now have kids engaged in physical activity who otherwise would probably be sitting on a couch eating a bag of chips.” Helping teenagers be good moms While the foundation values learning by trying out new ideas, it also looks to what’s working elsewhere. The Nurse- Family Partnership, for example, is an evidence-based nationwide program join the CONVERSATION 4 “We now have kids engaged in physical activity who otherwise would probably be sitting on
“By providing individualized support to a first-time mom during pregnancy and throughout the child’s first two years, Pennsylvania’s Nurse-Family Partnership can prevent problems like child abuse and neglect, strengthen the family bond and give the child a healthier start.” — Estelle B. Richman, state secretary of public welfare that brings nurses into the homes of low-income, first-time expectant mothers every two weeks for up to two years after their children are born. The purpose is to encourage healthy babies while the mothers — 75 percent of whom are younger than 18 — continue pursuing personal and career goals. “By providing individualized support to a first-time mom during pregnancy and throughout the child’s first two years, Pennsylvania’s Nurse-Family Partnership can prevent problems like child abuse and neglect, strengthen the family bond and give the child a healthier start,” says Estelle B. Richman, state secretary of public welfare. A $20,000 foundation grant funds the work of Christina Baker, R.N., the NFP nurse in Coatesville. Since she began working with the partnership in late 2001, only 4 percent of the single-child births she has overseen — less than half of the statewide rate — have been premature. Likewise, fewer than 11 percent of her clients, notably lower than the county rate, have a second child within two years of giving birth. And 92 percent of the expectant mothers who were in school when they enrolled in the program stayed in school or graduated. “We’ve found that young, low-income, mostly single mothers — like most mothers — want to be good moms, and we help them in their aspirations,” says Pat Yoder, R.N., supervisor of Chester County’s NFP program. Adds Baker, the nurse in Coatesville, “One of the most gratifying things is to see them following what I’m telling them, such as seeing them feeding their baby cereal out of a bowl instead of a bottle. And also seeing them graduate from high school and in some cases move out, living on their own and working, breaking the cycle they were raised in.” With Baker’s help, Jennifer Williams, 19, gave birth to her daughter, Mariah, on May 1, 2006, a year before she graduated from Coatesville Area High School. “I know a lot of people have trouble being pregnant and having a baby,” says Williams, who expects to soon become a cosmetologist. “But Christina was very helpful, always telling me what to expect, and to keep my head up and try my hardest in everything I do.” Meanwhile, a 10-year study of one of our longest-supported programs, the Maternal and Child Health Consortium’s countywide Healthy Start program for low-income expectant mothers, dramatically demonstrated its worth, with rates of babies born preterm or with low weight significantly below local, state and national averages. a couch eating a bag of chips.” — Tammy Swink, R.N., B.S.N., school nurse, Octorara Area High School 5
Page 1 and 2: Brandywine Health Foundation 2007 C
Page 3 and 4: “ ” CONVERSATION Dear friends,
Page 5: Construction on the Brandywine Heal
Page 9 and 10: The foundation also functions as an
Page 11 and 12: Dallas Krapf with his brother, Dale
Page 13 and 14: $10,000 to Domestic Violence Center
Page 15 and 16: Financial Report Statements of Fina
Page 17 and 18: Dr. Todd Campbell and Ms. Danielle
Page 19 and 20: Board Members, Staff and Volunteers

12939 Brandywine.qxd - Brandywine Health Foundation

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