St. Mary’s Medical Center is proud of its role as the only medical
center in West Virginia that owns and operates a School of Nursing,
School of Radiography, and a new School of Respiratory Care. Our schools
graduate more nurses and radiographers than any other in the area.
However, the current educational facility, located behind the main
hospital building, hasn’t had any major renovations since its
construction in 1947. Classroom space in the building is severely
overtaxed, limiting class capacity and complicating scheduling. One
eight-bed skills lab and a limited medical library accommodate more
than 200 students who share 10 computers and one VCR per classroom
to view the multiple training tapes required as part of the curriculum.
The cost of rewiring the building for Internet access is prohibitive.
While these schools excel academically, their
facilities are in dire need of reconstruction. The construction
of a new state-of-the-art facility would provide students with quality
equipment and the learning environment that they would need to flourish.
We are asking you to help us support the state-of-the-art facility,
services and programs and build on our strong foundation of excellence.
H.E.A.R.T.
Helping Educators Attack Cardiovascular Risk Factors Together (H.E.A.R.T.)
is an elementary school-based heart disease and obesity prevention
program with the goal of preventing the development of high blood
pressure, high cholesterol and obesity in West Virginia children
and their families through nutritional education and physical activity.
According to the 2002 National Vital Statistics Report
by the Centers for Disease Control, West Virginia ranks first in
the nation for deaths from cardiovascular related diseases. Realizing
many of the risk factors for heart disease begin in childhood, St.
Mary’s established the H.E.A.R.T. Program in 2001.
Since the inception of the H.E.A.R.T. Program, more
than 4,000 third- through fifth- grade students in Cabell County,
W.Va. elementary schools have been screened for cholesterol, blood
pressure, and body mass index. Additionally, hundreds more have
been given heart disease prevention education in the classroom and
have participated in a walking program to increase their fitness
levels. From 2001 – 2003, students walked more than 20,000
miles in the “Feelin’ Good Mileage Club,” a walking
program that rewards children for every five miles they walk. The
program is adaptable to help kids build math, geography, and science
skills while they exercise.
With your help, The H.E.A.R.T. Program will broaden
the focus of combating childhood obesity and to extend educational
efforts into Wayne and Lincoln Counties of West Virginia.
TIPS (Transportation Injury
Prevention and Safety)
St. Mary’s Medical Center Foundation has teamed with the Nick
J. Rahall, II Appalachian Transportation Institute to present Transportation
Injury Prevention and Safety (TIPS), a program designed to increase
awareness about transportation safety.
TIPS is a two-part program developed by St. Mary’s
Regional Neuroscience Center that consists of an annual youth safety
fair and an education plan delivered to school children throughout
the school year.
One main area of focus for the program is all-terrain
vehicle (ATV) safety. During the last six years, West Virginia has
averaged 30 ATV deaths per year, and recent data has showed 40 deaths
on ATVs in West Virginia in 2005. Sadly, West Virginia has consistently
ranked as the state with the highest per capita rate of ATV deaths.
TIPS works to increase safety awareness among parents and children
by relating the seriousness side of safety, and helping children
understand that safety can be fun. The program also includes safety
education for other forms of transportation, such as bicycles, scooters
and automobiles.
