Health’s Up continues to break new pathways in health education! The latest edition Zoom’s into a virtual classroom to answer questions from students about COVID-19. Health’s Up is the brainchild of Dr. Kristi Westphaln, a pediatric nurse practitioner doing her post-doctoral work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Kristi is a self-proclaimed “wannabe school nurse.” The brilliance of Health’s Up is that it is driven by the “experts,” the students, who determined what they were most interested in learning. This is promoting student engagement at the highest level by including the learners in designing their educational experience.
The Health’s Up project is more than just a project to me. It is the embodiment of a dream that weaves child choice and voice into their health experiences.
Health’s Up is an innovative participatory pediatric health education project that partners local inner city Cleveland elementary schools, child health experts, and Cleveland’s NPR affiliate, Ideastream, to transform local child health education via engagement, evidence, and exploration.” – Kristi K. Westphaln, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC
Mrs. McClusky and some of her class from Saints Robert and William Catholic School in Euclid give a thumbs up during a Zoom session with Health’s Up team members, Anna Huntsman (top left) and host Kristi Westphaln (top center). [Anna Huntsman / ideastream]
The kids have a virtual dance party with Health’s Up team members and Dr. Elizabeth Benninger from University Hospitals. Dancing is a great way to make both our bodies and minds feel better.
Published by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN, is a Nationally Certified School Nurse (NCSN), currently in her 22nd year as a New Jersey school nurse in the Camden City School District. Robin is the Director for New Jersey to the National Association of School Nurses (NASN) Board. She is proud to be a Johnson & Johnson School Health Leadership Fellow and past Program Mentor. Robin is the honored recipient of multiple awards for her work in school nursing and population health. These awards include, 2019 and 2020 National Association of School Nurses President’s Award, 2018 NCSN School Nurse of the Year, 2017 Johnson & Johnson School Nurse of the Year, and the New Jersey Department of Health 2017 Population Health Hero Award. Robin serves as faculty in the School Nurse Certificate Program at Rutgers University-Camden School of Nursing, where she teaches the next generation of school nurses. She was presented the 2018 Rutgers University – Camden Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award for Part-time Faculty. Robin writes a weekly blog called The Relentless School Nurse. She also writes a monthly column in My American Nurse, the official journal of the American Nurses Association. Robin’s work is included as a case study in The Future of Nursing Report 2020-2030. You can follow Robin on Twitter at @RobinCogan.
View all posts by Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN
