HealthCampNola

Today, HealthCampNola took place at Walter L. Cohen Academy of Health Sciences. This un-conference brought together New Orleans professionals and students in health and fitness. This movement has encouraged many grassroots efforts to help improve health and wellness in communities around the world. With such passionate professionals in New Orleans, it was only so long until they did their part to help create positive change in our local culture towards health. Only in its first year, HealthCampNola tackled issues and shared information that concerned our citizens each day. The conference consisted of 4 sessions, including 15 minute presentations throughout the day. Some of the great topics selected were Worksite Wellness, Shaklee Vitamins: Dietary Supplements, The End of Life! How doctors, health professionals, and publics deal, HIV/AIDS in New Orleans and HIV awareness and testing education, Adolescent Reproductive Health and so much more.

This great open learning environment not only took place at Cohen High School, but included several students, whom were chosen as ambassadors to represent the school. Headed by Alex Hochron, Health Science Academy is not only a high school, but teaches students to understand that health is more than being sick or not. He encourages students to help in the efforts to build a Healthy School. After each student’s first year in the program they are to pick one of the five majors that include EMT, Nursing, Food & Nutrition, Pre-Medical and Sports Medicine. With over 250 students in the program, each student is given an opportunity to work toward Certification in Health Sciences. With this dynamic new program, Cohen attendance has risen 15%, violent behavior dropped 50%, and graduation up 94% from the 36% in 2007. Health Sciences has helped changed once a top American dangerous school to a school of success.

This conference was the first step to helping create conversation about the important health issues in New Orleans that get ignored each day. From this program and others like it, expect many new initiatives that help continue the new mission of New Orleans “One Team. One Fight. One Voice. One City.”