NASHVILLE – In 2011 HealthTeacher launched youth-health literacy collaboratives in 8 U.S. metropolitan markets. These new partnerships, underwritten by leading healthcare organizations, provide 2,896 new schools and their connected families with much needed online resources to address the myriad of health issues impacting today’s youth.
In addition, the company’s existing healthcare partners expanded their programs to include 1,194 schools in 5 U.S. metropolitan markets. With the new and expanded partnerships, HealthTeacher is now active in nearly three dozen metropolitan markets, serving over 10,000 schools, reaching over 6 million youth. HealthTeacher is the health education resource used by 9 of the 15 largest school districts in the U.S.
Lynn Britton, president and chief executive officer of Mercy, the 8th largest Catholic health care system in the U.S., said HealthTeacher supports the proactive role Mercy is taking to improve the health and well-being of children in the communities Mercy serves in Missouri, Oklahoma, Kansas and Arkansas.
“Parents, educators and community leaders alike are concerned about the health of our children. There is a critical need to educate our kids about healthy lifestyles,” said Britton. “Through HealthTeacher, Mercy is supporting schools and families with proven resources to raise strong, healthy kids.”
According to Robert I. Bonar, Jr., Dr. H.A., chief executive officer of Dell Children’s Medical Center, HealthTeacher enables the Austin, TX hospital to support a diverse youth population spanning 23 school districts in 3 counties.
“With HealthTeacher we are empowering educators and families in central Texas to directly address the health issues impacting our children,” said Bonar. “From obesity to bullying, from good nutrition to dealing with stress, our kids are learning to make healthy choices that lead to healthy lives.”
“More and more, community leaders are joining together with schools and families, embracing the need to go ‘upstream’ to stem the tide on youth health,” said Scott McQuigg, chief executive officer of HealthTeacher. “Healthcare organizations, true to their missions, are finding creative ways to fund HealthTeacher in direct support of efforts by schools and families so they can have an immediate and lasting impact on youth health.”
In addition to strong business growth, HealthTeacher launched a new, interactive deep breathing web app, designed to teach kids how to manage stress and anxiety, and to help teachers calm their classrooms. Since the launch in October 2011, HealthTeacher has already facilitated over 135,000 minutes of deep abdominal breathing in classrooms throughout the country.
In support of current and future growth, during 2011 HealthTeacher added 20 new staff members, including leadership positions in product, behavioral science, education and fundraising development:
John Herbold, VP product, joined HealthTeacher from Apple, Inc. where he was a senior product manager.
Emily Coe, Ph.D., director of behavioral science, joined HealthTeacher from Healthways, Inc. where she was on the company’s innovations team.
Chris Stowers, MPH, CFRE, VP development, joined HealthTeacher from the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children, where he was executive director of the hospital’s foundation.
Jess Lawrence, regional VP of community & learning solutions, joined HealthTeacher from her private consulting practice. Previously, Jess was director of health education for the State of Oregon, Department of Education.
Debra Hopkins, regional VP of community & learning solutions, joined HealthTeacher from National Geographic School Publishing, where she was a national curriculum consultant.
About HealthTeacher
HealthTeacher is a leading provider of online health promotion, disease prevention, social/emotional wellness and safety resources for kindergarten through 12th grade and is used by nearly 30,000 teachers nationwide. HealthTeacher helps establish community-based youth health collaboratives by developing partnerships between healthcare organizations, businesses, community leaders and schools to address the growing issues affecting the health status of young people. To learn more, visit www.healthteacher.com.