COLUMBIA – Female students at the Olympia STAR Academy of Olympia Learning Center have been selected for the All-Health Team, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“The students developed the Olympia Go Red for Women project as an extension of Providence’s Hospital’s Red Dress Campaign which uses the visual of a red dress to help communicate that heart disease is not just a man’s disease,” said Cheryl Guyton, nurse of Olympia Learning Center.
“The students conducted research to learn about strokes, heart disease, and how to prevent both conditions,” Guyton said. “They created family health histories by using a ‘Family Tree’ diagram to record their family heart history.”
Guyton said the “Family Tree” could be shared with the students’ doctor to learn about things that can be done to reduce the risk of family history heart disease.
“The students attended February’s Red Dress Rally at the South Carolina Statehouse and wore student-designed t-shirts emblazoned with a red dress,” said Joann Minder, coordinator of the All-Health Team. “In celebration of Valentine’s Day students wrote poems, note cards and heart disease information, attached them to red floral arrangements and sent them to female staff members. They also took floral arrangement and heart cards home to female family members.”
According to Minder, the students also spread their heart disease knowledge by displaying posters and appearing on their in-school television program. They hosted a “Ladies Tea” and presented information about heart disease and prevention to female students, family members and staff.
For being named to the All-Health Team, the Olympia Learning Center students will receive $500 to expand their project, t-shirts and other All-Health Team items, recognition on the All-Health Team Web site and a television spot on WIS-TV in Columbia.
DHEC and WIS-TV sponsor the All-Health Team. Each month, the partnership recognizes an individual or youth group promoting health in their community. For more information, visit the All-Health Team Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/allhealth, call Joann Moton Minder at (803) 545-4501 or e-mail her at minderjm@dhec.sc.gov.