Heart Healthy Schools' Program

Heart Niagara is excited to kick-off the 20th year of its Healthy Heart Schools' Program. We'd like to take this opportunity to share success and advances which will improve the 2008-09 program.

A number of advances, including updates to the assessment booklets, new signage and traffic control, brand new machines and technology and more Heart Niagara staff nurses onsite, will be implemented this year. The student assessment booklets have been redesigned in order to make their completion easier and the referral and data entry process more efficient. We will be introducing new signage that will be used to better control student traffic and make assessment days run in a more controlled manner.

This program is an important and unique primary prevention strategy delivered in collaboration with Niagara Region Public Health and the Niagara School Boards. The program provides over 4,300 grade 9 students annually with enough information about their individual heart health profiles to guide them toward positive lifestyle decisions. This program provides a vehicle to present information on reducing the risk factors of heart disease to every person in the Niagara Region at least once in their lives. None of this would be possible without the continuing support and partnership of Phys. Ed. teachers and their School Boards.

The goal of the Healthy Heart Schools' Program this year is to increase customer satisfaction (for teachers, students and families) and improve program standards.

In 2008, Heart Niagara established a collaboration with Dr. Brian McCrindle (Staff Cardiologist at The Hospital for Sick Children, Professor of Pediatrics and Principal Investigator with the University of Toronto) to further research and publish based on our program outcomes. Dawn Prentice RN, Ph.D (Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Brock University) and Heather Lee Kilty, Ph.D. (Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Brock University) will also continue to publish our program outcomes and welcome the new opportunity to work with Dr. Brian McCrindle. If you would like a copy of the articles published to date please send a request to info@heartniagara.com.