School Health in Lorain County

Lorain County Public Health works to make sure students have a healthy and safe environment to learn and play. We use a collaborative approach to school health as we:

• Help school districts make it easier for students to learn and play
• Conduct environment inspections at all local school building
• Share health promotion and disease prevention resources
• Contract with school districts to provide school nursing services
• Link educators, food service staff, and school administrators to professional development opportunities and resources to make it easier for them to help students

We help school districts make it easier for students to learn and play

With experts available to provide resources and technical assistance to your district or school wellness team, Lorain County Public Health can help you kick-start the wellness process. Call 440-322-6367 and ask for the Health Promotion division or email healthed@loraincountyhealth.com to learn about the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model we use.

Check out these resources and make changes to your classroom:

• Kids Health in the Classroom
• Health and Safety Lesson Plans
• Healthy Kids Activities
• American Heart Association Activities for Kids

School Environment Inspections

Lorain County Public Health Registered Sanitarians conduct school environment inspections twice per year in every local school building to ensure school environments are safe places where students can learn and play. Food safety inspections and education are another layer of our collaborative relationship with schools.

Health promotion and disease prevention resources

Healthy eating is an important component of school health, as many children will eat two meals at school each day. School nutrition professionals are on the front lines of helping Lorain County’s children develop healthy eating habits, such as eating fruits and vegetables. Increased fruit and vegetable intake may assist in healthy weight management when high-calorie foods are replaced by fruits and vegetables.

Lorain County Public Health provides technical assistance to school food service programs to make policy, systems, and environmental changes that improve the nutrition options of our students. More about ways Lorain County Public Health can help:

• Review current menus and suggest changes and substitutions
• Design and install salad bars in lunchrooms that can increase lunch participation and decrease food waste and labor costs, all while meeting USDA school meal patterns
• Implement Smarter Lunchrooms using no-cost and low-cost strategies

Physical activity can increase students’ performance while increasing focus. Children who get 30 minutes of physical activity every day build healthy habits that last a lifetime and prevent obesity and disease. Learn more about ways in which Lorain County Public Health can help:

• Yoga 4 Classroom training and implementation
• Go Noodle and Physical Activity in the Classroom
• Walk and Bike to School

Social and emotional health is an important component of school health. Students should feel supported and comfortable at school. Children who have both peers and mentors that they trust are more resilient and can be more successful throughout their lifetime.Learn more about how Lorain County Public Health can help:

• Training
• Professional Development for Staff

Contract with school districts to provide school nursing services

For the 2018-2019 school year, multiple school districts and independent schools contracted with Lorain County Public Health to provide nursing services to their students and school staff. Some of the services provided by school nurses include:

• Vision and hearing screenings: Vision and hearing are key components in a child's learning process. Lorain County Public Health school nurses conduct vision and hearing screenings to identify vision and hearing deficits. and Children with noted deficits are referred for further evaluation and resources are made available to parents as needed.
  • Requirements for vision and hearing in Ohio Schools
  • American Academy of Opthamology
  • Vision information and vision programs
• Dental: Dental health is important, and protecting your child’s teeth is a first step to keeping their teeth and mouth healthy for a lifetime. In fact, children who have tooth decay miss an average of 12 days of school every year, and have lower grades than children with good dental health. The school nurse can assist the school and parents with resources regarding dental care and in-school dental programs.
  • Other dental care services near you:
    • Lorain County Health & Dentistry - call 440-240-1655 to make an appointment
    • Lorain County Community College- call 440-366-4948 to make an appointment for preventative services only
    • Oral Health programs in Ohio
• Vaccine records and management: Vaccinations protect students, their family and the community from vaccine preventable diseases. Lorain County Public Health school nurses review vaccine records to make sure students are up to date on recommended vaccines and refer students for missing vaccines if needed. LCPH can provide missing vaccines to students.
• Chronic disease management: LCPH school nurses work with parents, physicians and school staff to ensure students chronic medical needs are managed accurately, safely and with little disruption to the student’s school day. Diabetes, food allergies, asthma and seizures are becoming common chronic illness within the school environment. These illnesses are managed by school nurses through medical, nursing and emergency planning.

Professional development opportunities and resources to make it easier for school staff to help students

The Healthy Kids Achieve More Network (HKAMN) is the one-stop shop for Lorain County school districts to access resources to address health and learning of school-aged children.

HKAMN recognizes that health and education affects individuals, society, and the economy and, as such, must work together whenever possible. Schools are one of the most efficient systems for reaching children and youth to provide health services and programs, as approximately 95% of all U.S. children and youth attend school. At the same time, integrating health services and programs more deeply into the day-to-day life of schools and students represents an untapped tool for raising academic achievement and improving learning.

HKAMN is a group of school staff, community members, and agencies working together to increase the health knowledge, attitudes, and skills of Lorain County students in an effort to increase positive health behaviors and improve educational and social outcomes.Through a multi-agency collaboration, HKAMN has invested over $6.3 million to support positive school environments between 2012 and 2017.

HKAMN Partners

• Educational Service Center of Lorain County
• The LCADA Way
• The MHARS Board
• Lorain County Public Health

To learn more about HKAMN or to get involved, call 440-322-6367 and ask to speak to someone in the Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention division at Lorain County Public Health.