“My favorite thing about being here at Inspire Health Camp is we get to do a lot of new stuff and meet new people like our teachers. I’m thankful for the people who helped found this camp and I bet they did it because they wanted people to learn about health care, and in the future they could be doctors and nurses,” shares seven-year-old Carson Jane, who was one of the many eager-to-learn participants of our first ever Inspire Health Academy Kids Camp.
During the Inspire Health Kids Camp (for pre-k through elementary school students) and the Inspire Health Academy (for junior and high school students) children learned about different healthcare fields by CHC/SEK health professionals, pediatric dental residents and family medicine residents.
The camp is part of the Inspire Health Foundation, which supports the efforts of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas through providing, sponsoring, facilitating, promoting, and supporting healthcare education throughout the region.
“Our Foundation’s goal is to promote student interest in health careers,” says Inspire Health Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Turnbull. “We believe it’s very important to provide students with a number of opportunities to explore possible careers in healthcare.”
CHC/SEK health professionals, Rural Family Medicine Residents, and Pediatric Dental Residents shared about their respective fields through hands-on activities. Topics covered included behavioral health, dental, diagnostic imaging (CT, ultrasound, and x-ray), first aid, nursing, nutrition, pharmacy, physical therapy, and more.
Some of the activities included looking inside a fake mouth to check for cavities, learning how to make a nutritious meal, creating a kid-friendly petri dish to learn about bacteria, taking a tour of one of our clinics to view imaging equipment, and learning about medicine safety. Participants also learned CPR and first aid, which included when to call 911 and how to help someone until first responders arrive. Thanks to our friends at Crawford County EMS, the children got to go inside an ambulance.
