Don't Miss These Photos From the 2012 Convention

Our photographer, Ray from ABQ Photography, did a wonderful job! Below are a few photos from the hundreds he took at this year's conference. Click here to view more!

Introducing Latishia Sanchez, 2012 Youth Track Attendee

My name is Latishia Sanchez. I am 19 years young and am Native American and Hawaiian. I come from the Pueblos of Laguna, Santo Domingo, and San Felipe, New Mexico.

I love meeting new people, eating, texting, helping others, and expressing myself. I am not a quiet person. I dislike awkward silences and try to break the ice as soon as possible. I am proud to say that I help out in the teen health center at Laguna Acoma High School (LAHS) and I love it! I feel that school-based health centers (SBHCs) are important to Laguna and other reservations.

Having lived on a reservation for 19 years, I speak from experience when I say the challenges youth face growing up there are different than adults. I have not had the easiest childhood and have received help from SBHCs. I believe SBHCs – such as the LAHS Teen Center and the Elev8 program at the Laguna Middle school – are crucial to the health of youth. I cannot stress the need of SBHCs enough to get the point across!

I am excited about the convention and can’t wait to meet all of you!

In Love, Health, and Beauty,

Latishia Sanchez

Workshop: E4 - Partnerships for Coordinating Student Health Care: Lessons from Two Large Cities

By Sue Catchings, Chief Executive Officer, Health Care Centers in Schools, Baton Rouge, LA

Marylin Crumpton, MD, MPH, Director, Growing Well Cincinnati, OH, and I hope that you will join us for a meaningful conversation about how to build partnerships that bring more health services to students. We will push you to think outside the box as we brainstorm together, hopefully fostering many "Aha!" moments.

Consider Marilyn and I as pioneers who have done some work that we want to share with you and invite you to go beyond what we have done. Each of us, in Cincinnati and Baton Rouge, respectively, has brought a diverse group of providers together, collaborating for children. You will hear us to talk about mobile dentists, mobile optometrists, and how to integrate seamless care in primary medical and mental health services for children and their families. You will come to understand how we bring providers to school, but also, how we forge relationships in the community that help us fill the gap in services that we know exist.

School systems do have buses and never be stopped because the provider is in one place and the students are in another! We look forward to hearing about new ideas and hope that you will join us in what will be an exploration of what we have done and how you can make it better!

See you in Albuquerque,
Sue Catchings, Baton Rouge, LA

Video Interview: Steve North, MY Health-e-Schools, North Carolina

Check out this video interview of Steve North from MY Health-E-Schools in North Carolina.

by Beth Gaglione, @bgaglione.

Workshop: E6 - The Youth Empowerment Model for Adults

By Parrish Ravelli, BA, Youth Empowerment Coordinator/Program Director, NC School Community Health Alliance/Youth Empowered Solutions, Durham, NC

Working with youth is exciting, inspiring, and yes, a challenge. It requires development, training and practice (and patience)...because let's be honest, working with youth is tough! In this workshop you will gain the tools necessary to establish - and enjoy - an empowered group of young advocates.

Youth have the capacity to change the way our organizations look, feel, and operate. They also have the capacity to significantly increase our organizations’ outcomes. To create an environment that is conducive to youth empowerment we, as adults, need to be equipped with tools to develop youth-adult partnerships. The YES! Youth Empowerment Model is a process as much as it is a culture. It is meant to strengthen a youth program as much as it is to strengthen a youth-serving organization.

We will talk about our role as Adult Allies, reflect on the Millennial Generation (as well as our own), and look at how the YES! Youth Empowerment Model is applied within recruitment and retention strategies. Hopefully this workshop will bring to light for you what it has for us, that the success and sustainability of your school-based health centers can drastically be improved by the degree to which you are engaging those youth that you serve.

Workshop: B7 - Obesity Prevention Inside and Outside the Clinic Walls

By Diana Vinh, BA, Public Health Nurse, Public Health Seattle and King County, Seattle, WA

Have you ever wondered how to address the difficult issue of obesity at your school-based health center? For the last two years we have been taking this topic on - both inside and outside the clinic walls. 

At our workshop, "Obesity Prevention Inside and Outside the Clinic Walls" you'll learn what 7 - 5 - 2 - 1 - 0 can do for you and your students, and how to create a healthier food environment at your school.

Workshop: A8 - Creating a Sustainable School-Based Health Center in a Rural Appalachian Community

by Karen Ballengee, MA, Treasurer, Manchester Local School District, Manchester, OH

This presentation includes a synopsis on how a poor rural school district was able to create and sustain a successful school-based health center. This presentation emphasizes the importance of collaboration from start-up to sustainability.