Press Release

The Wellmark Foundation Funds Childhood Obesity Prevention Project in Monona County

( Des Moines, Iowa) – The Burgess Foundation in Onawa received a $93,558 two-year grant from The Wellmark Foundation to implement a childhood obesity prevention project in the West Monona School District.

Got 2 Move will prevent childhood obesity by promoting lifelong physical activity and healthy daily habits among children in the West Monona School District, says Sue McLaughlin, RN, CDE, diabetes program coordinator and grant coordinator at the Burgess Health Center. “Got 2 Move will provide fun, free activities and fitness equipment for children at school and community sites. Increased exercise will ultimately lower their risk for obesity and other serious health conditions.”

A community coalition will lead the project, which will include community capacity-building, policy, youth programming and family programming to motivate children to stay physically active and healthy, explains McLaughlin. The coalition will work with the school board to approve new policies, train volunteer staff to supervise before and after school use of fitness equipment, and implement family activities including mini-health fairs and family fun nights.

Goals include 20 percent increase in the usage of fitness equipment on school grounds and community sites, 60 percent increase in the number of students who pass the Presidential Physical Fitness Test, and 20 percent decrease in the number of students at or above the 85 th percentile for body mass index (BMI).

Got 2 Move will be modeled after guidelines from the Center for Disease Control and the University of Iowa Nursing Interventions Research Center. According to McLaughlin, while the initial emphasis will be on West Monona elementary school students, project planners plan to formally expand the program to all youth in Monona County in the near future.

Project partners include Burgess Health Center, West Monona Community Schools, Monona County Public Health Nursing, City of Onawa: Summer Park and Recreation, Onawa Public Library, ISU Extension – Monona County and the Family Medicine Clinic. For more information on the Got 2 Move project, contact Sue McLaughlin at smclaughlin@burgesshc.org or (712) 423-9268.