HealthTeacher

Saint Alphonsus Health System brought HealthTeacher to Idaho in January 2010 to provide curriculum to teachers at more than 100 schools in Ada County as a free health education resource. Over 52,000 Students in Meridian, Joint School District No. 2, Boise School District, and Middleton School District now benefit from the comprehensive K-12 online health education provided by HealthTeacher. Saint Alphonsus is proud to announce the Idaho State Department of Education adopted HealthTeacher as an accepted health education curriculum for the state of Idaho in November 2010 validating the importance of the educational content.

"Our mission is to improve the health of our community, and we have a long-standing history of partnering with other organizations to improve community health and safety. We believe it is our responsibility to work beyond our typical hospital and physician clinic settings to serve our community." said Sally Jeffcoat, President & CEO, Saint Alphonsus Health System. "By sponsoring and funding HealthTeacher resources, we have an opportunity to do something really important ' help both our teachers and our children. Through this partnership, we can help students have a better understanding of health, improve health literacy and help them make lifestyle choices to become better advocates for health."

In May 2011, Saint Alphonsus and the HealthTeacher program were incorporated into the City of Boise’s Let’s Move! program adoption. Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama, dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams.  

The HealthTeacher curriculum covers 10 key topic areas designed to help students develop knowledge and skills needed pursue healthy lifestyles throughout their lives. The HealthTeacher curriculum is aligned with the National Health Education Standards and Idaho Standards for Health Enhancement that requires instruction in five key areas:  

• Health
• Nutrition
• Mental health
• Injury prevention
• Tobacco, alcohol and drug use

Saint Alphonsus Health System is underwriting the curriculum and resources, provided through HealthTeacher, and teacher training as part of its efforts to improve the health of children and teens. Many high-risk health behaviors often are established during childhood and adolescence, which extend into adulthood. These behaviors can be addressed and prevented with proper education.  Saint Alphonsus hopes to eventually make this resource available to every child from Boise to Baker City and beyond.

Learn more in our monthly newsletters provided from HealthTeacher on such topics as bullying, depression, nutrition, and more. These newsletters provide current information which benefits the entire family. If you haven’t heard of HealthTeacher or haven’t seen your monthly newsletter, ask your child’s teacher or principal for further information. For more information on HealthTeacher call 208-367-5659.

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