Contact:
Elizabeth Blevins, Director, Office of Communications
Office: (740) 351-3810; FAX: (740) 351-3179; Cell: (740) 464-4854
940 Second Street – Portsmouth, Ohio 45662
E-mail: eblevins@shawnee.edu 
Web site: www.shawnee.edu

            Shawnee State University students in the Master of Occupational Therapy program have received a Global Youth Service Heroes grant to combat childhood obesity of $1,000 from UnitedHealthcare.
            The grant funds helped students purchase equipment for children to exercise in a play-based activity program at Portsmouth Elementary School designed to reduce the risk of children becoming overweight. Some of the funds will also be used for a seminar that will be held on Global Youth Services Day in April. The seminar will report on the success of the program.
“UnitedHealth Heroes help young people take action to improve their overall health and quality of life in a way that’s not only educational, but beneficial for their communities,” said Paul Brophy, executive director of UnitedHealthcare of Southwest Ohio. “We believe this grant will empower teams of Shawnee State University students to collaborate with teachers and parents to develop their own health literacy and advocacy programs that will make Portsmouth Elementary and the surrounding neighborhoods healthier.”
            Jim McPherson, associate professor in the Master of Occupational Therapy program, and three of the MOT students, Jamie Smith, Janelle Iadanza and Kevin
Cox are in charge of directing the exercise program.
            Students from the nursing program and occupational therapy program are working with MOT students with grades kindergarten through four. Heather Johnson, R.N., school nurse for Portsmouth Elementary, is coordinating the program.
            “The idea behind service learning is to encourage students to gain knowledge while providing needed services to the community,” McPherson said. “For the master students, this project provides them the opportunity to learn what it is like to conduct a research and simultaneously develop and deliver a community-based program. For the OTA and nursing students, the program provides them the opportunity to become involved in preventative health care. Overall, 200 individuals may benefit from this grant.”
            In reviewing the grant applications, UnitedHealthcare was inspired by the creative ideas young people came up with to help fight obesity and encourage healthier living.
            “We are pleased to support Shawnee State’s research study and the 14 other UnitedHealth Heroes grant recipient programs across Ohio as part of our commitment to help prevent obesity and related chronic health conditions,” Brophy said.
            In a study of 1,761 children ages five to 13 completed by a previous group of MOT students, 25.8 percent of the children in six counties in Kentucky were beyond the 95th percentile for Body Mass Index (BMI) and 43.9 percent were at or beyond the 85th percentile.

Cutline:
Shawnee State University’s Master of Occupational Therapy students blow up beach balls for their program with Portsmouth Elementary School students funded with a grant from UnitedHealthcare to help fight obesity and encourage healthier living for students kindergarten through fourth grades. From left, are Janelle Iadanza, Jamie Smith, Jamie Kilbarger, Sarah McGraw and Kevin Cox.