CHIP program begins with successful Teen health Fair

On February 29, students at Crook County High School got a chance to get their blood pressure taken, measure the strength of their grip and see what a smoker's lung looks like.  It was all part of the Teen Health Fair, sponsored by the Crook County CHIP (Community health Improvement Partnership) and Crook County High School.

About 30 exhibitors provided health and safety information to students with interactive and visual displays.  Booths included the Prineville Police Department's "fatal vision" goggles that simulate what happens to coordination when under the influence of drugs and alcohol, weighted hula hoop exercise at the Curves and Rebound Physical Therapy booths; a rowing machine from Norm's Xtreme Fitness and blood pressure checks at the Pioneer Memorial Hospital booth administered by CCHS health occupation class students.

For Lizzie Katz with the Sarah Fisher Project at St. Charles Bend, talking to students about breast cancer made perfect sense.  She's a young breast cancer survivor herself.

"It's important for me to talk to kids about (cancer) because I feel like this is the time they start forming healthy lifestyle habits, and (showing them) that healthy lifestyle habits can lower their risk of cancer as they get older," she said.  "It's also a good time to introduce more vocabulary about their bodies so they're comfortable (with that) so they know what's normal for themselves and to know to ask questions as they get older if concerns arise."

Freshmen Tatiana Jorgeson and Brittney Jahn said they learned a lot.

"I thought it was very helpful," said Jorgeson.

She said her favorite part was "learning about your body, what happens when you smoke, what happens when you drink, and what you can do to help your body through exercise and eating better food."

"Having the opportunity to provide prevention and healthy lifestyle information to the hischool students at the fair was wonderful, said Wendy Perrin, RN, Crook County health Department director and CHIP member.

In addition to the fair, CHIP also co-sponsored with the school district assemblies at the high school and middle school with national speaker Brad Henning of Life Resources who talked about the differences between men and women in relationships.

By attending this fair, students were entered into prize drawings including clothing from Bella Boutique, free bowling, gift certificates from Bread of Life, Pizzano's New York Pizza and Dairy Queen and $25 in gasoline donated by the District Attorney's office.