Highlights

Crozer-Keystone Health System’s Wellness Center was presented with an Achievement Award from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) for its Youth Leadership Program.

The Youth Leadership Program addresses multiple risk behaviors of high school students in the Chester-Upland school district. Each year, the program involves 40 high school students and provides them with training to be peer leaders to sixth grade students, while also offering enrichment activities to help develop the participants.

“Our goal is to train high school students to be leaders in the community,” says Rima Himelstein, M.D., medical director of the Wellness Center and director of Adolescent Medicine at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. “Our training focuses on adolescent health topics such as interpersonal violence, teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. The peer leaders then have the opportunity to internalize the information by working with the middle school students.”

To meet its goals, the program incorporates training sessions, service learning and enrichment activities for each student. Those who remain active in the program the entire year receive stipends ranging from $350 to $750, depending on level of participation in optional activities.

“Each student is expected to participate in 40 hours of Peer Leader Training at the start of the school year,” says Kate Blackburn, director of Youth Development Programs at the Wellness Center. “These sessions focus on topics such as public speaking, group facilitation, sexually transmitted infections, abstinence and contraception. In addition, to prepare peer leaders to present the in-class curriculum to sixth graders, ‘Train the Trainer’ workshops are held and focus on the specifics of each lesson. Additional training also takes place throughout the year during monthly Peer Leader meetings.”

Once the peer leaders are prepared to teach, they are assigned to teams of three, and then appointed to designated groups of sixth grade students. The curriculum consists of eight lessons, presented weekly during a 50-minute class period. Lessons focus on topics such as peer pressure, tobacco use, sexually transmitted infections, communication and relationships. An average of 450 sixth grade students are involved in the intervention each year.

In addition to training and the instructional components of the program, the peer leaders are also offered a variety of personal, academic and career enrichment activities through out the year. Last year’s programs included activities such as student resume writing workshops, college tours, tutoring, career presentations, job shadowing opportunities, public speaking engagements related to the Youth Leadership Program, special events planning, and a program development committee for new grant applications and projects.

“We’re very honored to have our program recognized by HAP,” Himelstein says, “but we are most proud of our results. Compared to Healthy People 2010 and Chester High School and City data, our birth rates among female participants are down, and our grade point averages and graduation rates are up. We’re very proud of what our students have done.”

The birth rate among high school females who are active in the Youth Leadership Program for more than one year, between 1996 and 2004, is 27.3. This is drastically lower than the 2000 Census data that states a 79.6 birth rate in the City of Chester among females 15-17 years old.

Continuing the trend is fact that 120 of the 121 high school students enrolled in the Youth Leadership Program for more than one year, between 1996 and now, have graduated. This equates to a 99.2 percent graduation rate, compared to the Chester High School 2002 graduation rate of 68.7 percent. Finally, peer leaders in the program for more than one year had an average grade point average in the fourth marking period of the 2003-2004 school year of 3.05, compared to a 2.63 among those enrolled in the program less than one year.

“The Wellness Center’s Youth Leadership program is a valuable asset to the health system and the community,” says Joan K. Richards, chief operating officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System and president of CKHS Hospitals. “The team has been able to create and sustain interest in the Youth Leadership Program for nine years, all while achieving its health related objectives. The program is an example of true community collaboration, identifying and effectively addressing the shared interests of the health system and the surrounding community.”

The Youth Leadership Program is based at Community Hospital. It is led by Blackburn. For more information, call (610) 497-7422 or 14-7422.

Crozer-Keystone Health System’s Wellness Center is celebrating its 10th anniversary during the 2005-2006 school year. As a health center for community children and teenagers, the Wellness Center has successfully helped to better the health and attitudes of local children and teenagers over the past decade.

Created through a partnership between Crozer-Chester Medical Center and the Chester-Upland School District, the center provides medical services for the youth of the community and addresses overall health and wellness through youth development programs.

Youth Development Programs

The Wellness Center provides leadership for several community health initiatives out of its office at Community Hospital in Chester.

The largest of these initiatives is the Chester Youth Collaborative, which works to strengthen and support out-of-school youth programs. The program was created by a $1,145,100 grant awarded by the William Penn Foundation to implement a neighborhood-based youth development system.

In addition to the grant, the center was also presented with an Achievement Award from the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) for its youth leadership programs in 2005.

The Wellness Center also offers health promotion and youth leadership programs to students in grades 6-12 in the Chester Upland School District, both in-class and after-school. The programs focus on preparing students to handle the challenges of adolescence, such as peer pressure, in a positive way.

“We’re very proud of the continued success of the center, says Kate Blackburn, director of the Youth Development Programs for the Wellness Center.” “Over the past 10 years, we have been able to expand medical services to a comprehensive program that addresses the needs of local adolescents.”

Medical Services

The Wellness Center is the first and only school-based health care clinic in Delaware County. The center is open all year-round, even during summer vacation.

Although the center is located in Smedley Middle School, it is a medical suite open to children and adolescents in nearby communities. Children and adolescents come to the center for many reasons. Some come for routine care, such as physical exams, vaccinations, health care education, asthma maintenance care and group counseling. The center also provides sick care to children and teenagers who have immediate health concerns.

The Wellness Center’s medical services are provided for children and teenagers ranging from ages 5 to 21. Regardless of where children and teenagers live and go to school, they can come to the center for health services as well as to participate in youth programs.

“We are most grateful for the support the Crozer-Keystone Health System continues to provide for the Wellness Center,” says Rima Himelstein, M.D., medical director of the Wellness Center and director of Adolescent Medicine at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. “Our goal has always been to keep students in good health while training them to become role models for their peers.”

For more information about the Youth Development Programs based at Community Hospital, call (610) 497-7422.

For more information about the Wellness Center based at Smedley Middle School, call (610) 490-1755.

Bryndaisha White

For nearly a decade, the March of Dimes (MOD) has worked with the Wellness Center at Community Hospital to pursue their common interests and concerns. In October 2005, the March of Dimes advanced this relationship by inviting Bryndaisha White, a peer leader at the Wellness Center, to become a part of the MOD board as their youngest member.

The Wellness Center actively participates with the March of Dimes by partaking in events including Walk America and Lobby Day. Since 1996, the MOD has given various grants to the Wellness Center, and over the years has been able to witness the hard work and dedication that has resulted from the youth programs.

“The March of Dimes is so impressed with Crozer’s Wellness Center,” says Dolores Smith, state director of Program Services and Public Affairs for the March of Dimes. ”The students develop leadership skills and serve as youth advocates on issues of maternal and infant health. Our Community Grant funds were put to good use in this program.”

White is a peer leader at the Wellness Center. Now a high school senior, White has been part of the Wellness Center’s Peer Leader Program for the past four years. As a peer leader, White mentors adolescents in sixth and seventh grades. At the Wellness Center, the peer leaders focus on educating children about peer pressure and some of the challenges they may encounter throughout life. They discuss topics such as sex, drug use and every-day problems that children often have while growing up.

During her membership as a peer leader at the Wellness Center, White has had many opportunities to work with the March of Dimes. Along with participating in Walk America and Lobby Day, White has attended and spoken at conferences on behalf of the March of Dimes, as well as the Wellness Center.

“We ask each of our board members to be a spokesperson for the March of Dimes, and Bryndaisha fills the spot beautifully,” says Susan Elder, state director of Development for the March of Dimes. “We look forward to the insight she will bring to the board concerning the youth’s interests, opinions and concerns.”

White is honored and very enthusiastic about her position for the March of Dimes.

“It feels great to know that the work that I do is acknowledged and recognized,” explains White. “I am ready and willing to take on the responsibility, and I am very proud to have the opportunity to contribute to something that is so beneficial to children.”

Along with bringing a youth perspective to the board, White will also continue to work on advocating about the importance of newborn screening and other issues of interest that ensure the health of pregnant women. White will be a full voting member of the board, and attend both state and local meetings.

“Bryndaisha is one of the Wellness Center’s strongest peer leaders because of the amount of responsibility she takes on, and the quality of work that she produces, comments Kate Blackburn, director of Youth Development Programs at Crozer’s Wellness Center. “Bryndaisha stands out in the crowd and has a certain maturity about her.”

“The March of Dimes values the strong relationship with the Wellness Center,” says Elder. “We are impressed with how well spoken the children are, and are grateful that Kate makes the students available to the March of Dimes.”

“Kate and Crozer should be commended for the eloquence of the Chester youth, and the contribution they make towards the children’s accomplishments,” says Smith.

White plans on attending college after graduation, and intends on working with and volunteering for the March of Dimes for the rest of her life.

“Both the Wellness Center and the March of Dimes are such beautiful programs,” explained White. “They have changed the lives of children in the Chester community, and people should be aware of how they can get involved.”

For more information about the Wellness Center, call (610) 497-7422, or visit www.crozer.org. Visit the March of Dimes for more information.

Crozer-Keystone Health System’s Wellness Center was awarded a $1,145,100 grant from the William Penn Foundation to implement a neighborhood-based youth development system. The focus of the initiative is to enhance the quality and duration of out-of-school youth programs within the city of Chester.

“We are very grateful to the William Penn Foundation for making such a strong commitment to the Wellness Center and to the youth in Chester,” says Gerald Miller, president and chief executive officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System. “This grant will allow us to work with community leaders and organizations, and the residents and children who live in Chester to develop programs that meet their individual needs.”

The 3-year grant is the result of a 2001 William Penn Foundation grant that developed a community-wide strategic planning process focusing on strengthening and sustaining youth development programs in Chester.

“Over the past three years, we have worked with community organizations to develop a strategic plan to help the city’s youth,” says Gwen Smith, chief operating officer of Springfield Hospital and CKHS vice president, who oversees Crozer-Keystone’s Community Outreach initiative. “The plan is based on the foundation that youth and communities thrive when young people have opportunities to take part in comprehensive out-of-school programs that include the development of leadership, academic and workforce skills, in addition to recreational activities offered in after-school programs.”

The Wellness Center will serve as the lead organization for the community-wide initiative, and will work to meet the objectives of the grant.

“Our primary goal is to develop four leadership councils that will help us implement our plan and shape the grant,” says Kate Blackburn, director of the Youth Development Program for the Wellness Center. “The components will include a city-wide youth council of individuals ages 12-22, a community council of adult residents, a youth-serving organizations group, and a key leaders council comprised of members from area business organizations who have the ability to affect policy and leverage resources for youth.”

Once in place, the four councils will work with youth groups to identify their specific needs, develop new programs and support existing programs that fulfill these requirements and help prepare students for their future.

“This grant provides us with the opportunity to expand on the outstanding work that has been done in the schools by our Wellness Center staff,” says Joan K. Richards, chief operating officer of Crozer-Keystone Health System, and president of CKHS Hospitals. “We look forward to working with existing programs and developing new ideas that will help develop the leaders of tomorrow.”

In addition to the leadership structure, the success of the grant is based on the provision of training and technical assistance to youth-servicing organizations; establishment of an outcomes database for youth participating programs affiliated with the project; implementation of a year-round civic engagement initiative targeting adolescents; establishment of a youth fund; establishment of a computerized tracking and referral system among participants in youth-servicing organizations; development of a communications system to improve access to programs; and the development of core standards for youth programs.

Members of the Youth Council of the Chester Youth
Collaborative pose in front of one of the murals. In the
back row, far left, is Youth Council Coordinator Ieasa
Nichols. Next to Nichols is artist Paul Downie.

The Chester High School Mural Project dedicated three new murals in the lobby of Chester High School at a special ceremony on June 14. The murals were completed by students in the program under the guidance of mural artist and teacher Paul Downie.

The Chester High School Mural Project is a cooperative effort of Chester High School; the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pa.; and the Chester Youth Collaborative, an initiative of Crozer-Keystone’s Wellness Center (based at Community Hospital in Chester). The goal of the Chester High School Mural Project is to provide young people with an opportunity to make a positive impact on their environment through art. Funding for this program has been provided by the Chester Youth Collaborative, the Community Arts Center, Jane and Walter Garrison, the Pennsylvania Institute of Technology and Ella and Joshua Yoder.

The three murals that were dedicated include “Voices,” a collage of Chester residents now and in the past; “Chester Train,” which comments on youth culture today; and “In the Mix,” a mural painted by participants of the Chester Youth Summit held at Widener University in May.

For more information about this project and/or other programs at the Community Arts Center, contact Diane Scott at (610) 566-1713.

NOTE: Scholarships will only be awarded annually based on available funding.

Background

The Chester Youth Collaborative is a neighborhood-based youth development network whose purpose is to enhance the quality of opportunities for young people, between the ages of 12-22 in the city of Chester. Our mission is to promote a strong Chester community in which all youth reach their full potential and transition successfully into adulthood.

Chester Youth Collaborative Scholarships:

• Are merit-based
• Are awarded to students with a demonstrated financial need
• May be renewable for up to 3 years but renewal is not guaranteed
• Are restricted to payment of tuition, books and other school specific fees
• Average award will be approximately $1000 per student per year
• Are NOT awarded directly to students. Monies are awarded to the student via the institution to which the student has been accepted.

Students interested in applying for a CYC Scholarship must meet the following criteria:

• Exemplifies the mission of the Chester Youth Collaborative
• Demonstrated commitment to community service (preferably in Chester)
• Demonstrated commitment to academic excellence with a GPA of not less than 2.5
• Current resident of Chester and/or a senior in the Chester Upland School District
• Current resident of Chester and a full-time student pursuing a degree at an *accredited post secondary school.
• Demonstrated financial need, satisfactory progress in major, good academic standing (not less than 2.5 GPA), and community service each year for the duration of the scholarship.

* An accredited post secondary institution is a 2 or 4 year college/university, technical or trade school.

How to Apply:

1. All applicants must be enrolled or accepted (or plan to enroll) in an accredited post secondary institution.
2. Completed applications (click on link at right and print out application) must be submitted along with the required attachments to Janet S. Riley Ford, CYC Program Coordinator, by Wednesday, November 1, 2006 at 5:00 pm.
3. Award recipients must be re-certified to renew the award each year by the CYC Coordinator (based on criteria).

Application Packet:

• General Information Form
• Resume and/or Personal Information Form
• Two Letters of Recommendation (from but not limited to, former teachers, college administrators, community leaders or other similar persons concerning the academic ability, character, reputation or professional aptitude of the applicant.)
• Essay
• Certification of Academic Standing
• High School Transcript (for incoming Freshman)
• *Acceptance Letter (College/Post Secondary School)
• Undergraduate Transcript (for current college/post secondary students)

Contact Us

For more detailed information about the Chester Youth Collaborative, please contact us:

The Chester Youth Collaborative
The Wellness Center
2600 West Ninth Street
Chester, PA 19013
Phone: (610) 497-7422
Fax: (610) 497-7438

You may also e-mail us at:

Janet Ford

Ieasa Nichols

Nafis Nichols