March 17 – LIMA – The Lima Memorial Health System's Listen to Your Heart program offers a fun, interactive way to teach elementary school students about heart health and healthy living.
Perry Elementary School students in grades one through four learn about the benefits of heart health through education and a series of interactive stations including live demonstrations of CPR, a heart-healthy food relay station, and a "When to Call 9-1-1" game .
Brian Shade of the Lima Memorial Health System said: “We are here with a group of volunteers from all walks of life at the hospital. We are here to have fun and educate kids about heart health and how to respond to heart disease. scary to think, but three out of four heart attacks that happen outside the hospital happen at home. For children, especially at this age, it is very important to be able to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and be able to call and call 911 for emergency help.”
The purpose of the day is to teach children how to prevent heart disease and lead a healthy lifestyle. Healthy eating and exercise are the main themes of these events. A relay race is taking place, where pieces of healthy and unhealthy food are laid out on the floor around the room. Students should run around the room, select an adult-guided sound object and a sprint backpack, and place this object on a plate. This is done three times, once for each meal per day.
There are stations where students are taught manual CPR. Each student must practice on the mannequin. Pupils, who are pressed to their chest by adults, clap their hands in the rhythm of "Baby Shark".
“I think it's great for us to be back in our community and integrated into our school system. This has been much needed since COVID and we love being here and enjoy opening new schools as we move forward.”
Teaching kids from an early age is key to instilling heart-healthy habits that will promote good health and well-being into adulthood.
Call Dean Brown at 567-242-0409.