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| Windsor students at the
William Connor Primary School |
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Students from the Windsor
University School of Medicine have embarked upon a two
month long free after school health program geared at
primary-schoolers. About 17 members of the Students
for Health group turned up for the first of the free
weekly sessions providing health care information to
the pupils of the Dr. William Connor Primary School.
The doctors-in-training
volunteered their time to instruct the kids on proper
teeth brushing, basic hygiene, nutrition, grooming
and etiquette, along with providing confidential child
and parent/guardian physicals. The 5th and 6th graders
were instructed in First Aid, CPR/choking relief techniques,
cooking and safe food handling and preparation.
According to one of
the medical students, the children were separated
into groups and each group received instruction on
different areas of health. He said they were taught
about personal hygiene, washing hands properly, proper
ways to care for their teeth and more, and on the
following week, the students would rotate classes
so each group had the opportunity to receive instruction
on all topics.
The after school program
lasted one hour after which some classes were treated
to free pre-pasted toothbrushes. The program for the
Dr. William Connor School will end March 30th.The
Health Program is part of a larger endeavor that Victoria
Baucom of the Community Achievers Project says she
conceptualized and started. She said it began at the
Basseterre High School with the University of Medicine
and Health Sciences and the International University
of Nursing students providing basic health exams to
high-schoolers. Each Friday and Wednesday the students
respectively teach dental, hygiene, nutrition and
food preparation.
"The Universities
pick up the entire tab for these programs. They are
teaching Preventive Maintenance to the children and
they want to teach these vital tools to parents as
well...for free of course. Many of the children suffer
from poor vision, allergies, asthma, skin problems,
dental problems etcetera and it interferes with their
studies. I have asked parents to please take their
children to the dentist or to the doctor or to a counselor
to no avail. This way the child is seen at school,"
Baucom said.
She said it is important
that the younger children be exposed to the basic
hygiene practices so as to minimize health risks later
in their childhood and possibly into adulthood.
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