H E A LT H
COMMUNITY
Kishwaukee Hospital and Valley West Hospital
offer numerous educational opportunities:
exercise, healthy cooking, smoking-cessation, and heart health classes to name a
few. And personal wellness coaching for
patients and the public is on the horizon.
KishHealth System also offers “Know Your
Numbers” events, where adults can get a free
screening for blood pressure, blood sugar,
cholesterol, body mass index, and more.
provide healthier food and get access to
education. We work closely with Northern
Illinois Food Bank and others,” Cumings said.
Cumings also works with Coordinated
Approach to Child Health—or CATCH—a
nationally recognized childhood obesity
prevention program. It takes nutrition and
exercise lessons right to the classroom,
offers nutritional guidance to school
cafeterias, and hosts Family Fun Nights at
the YMCA to get entire families involved.
Not only are younger students benefiting,
college students are too. CATCH trains
NIU students majoring in dietetics,
physical education, nursing, public
health, or kinesiology to teach children
the importance of nutrition and exercise.
Intern Megan Monsess recently coached
kindergarteners and first-graders at Jefferson
Lisa Cumings and Misty Haji-Sheikh getting
ready for the Live Healthy DeKalb County
Community Leaders ride in Sycamore.
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Elementary School in DeKalb. “We did a
lesson called ‘Go, Slow, and Whoa Foods.’
We used a stoplight as an illustration.
The lesson educated kids on what foods
were good to eat, what foods they needed
to eat in moderation, and what foods
should be avoided most of the time.”
The results are promising. “We have done
pre- and post-testing to see what the kids
are learning, and we’re finding that kids
are making healthier food choices at home
and limiting screen time,” Cumings said.
Sandwich, Plano, and Somonauk
schools are having similar success
with the Alliance for a Healthier
Generation’s Healthy Schools Program,
another nationally known initiative.
“The program looks at school food,
competitive food (vendi