Question: How is Rob’s observation for lead poisoning and a school trying to keep a campus healthy a serious issue?
Rob’s observation about lead poisoning is extremely important because of the safety of the community. HealthyPeople.gov (2010) states Rob was recently put in charge of their Lead Poisoning Prevention Program (LPPP). After Rob analyzes the trending data, he realizes Springfield County has downsized more than the rest of the state. This is an important issue and the fact that Rob is taking an interest is good. The effects of lead poisoning can harm a community. Lead poisoning can have effects on a person such as hearing loss, loss of appetite, weight loss, vomiting, abdominal pain, and developmental delay. Rob’s concern can help save people from being exposed to lead poisoning. All of these symptoms and effects can be found in adults and newborns. From looking at the data, HealthyPeople.gov (2010) says Rob decided that the LPPP needs to take a new approach and brought together key stakeholders in the county to help develop a plan. At this point, he was investing his time more deeply into the issue. After meeting with county representatives from different corporations and assessing data, HealthyPeople.gov (2010) they think that the lead prevention plan they develop may be able to also address some environmental causes and triggers of asthma. Because lead poisoning is a serious issue, they are doing everything to find solutions to improve the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. HealthyPeople.gov (2010) says this situation got resolved by program proposing a pilot program that would remove lead paint and install air filters in the public housing units. The pilot program would also train some of the unemployed residents to assist in the renovations. It makes me happy that the issue was taken care and resolved because one worker named Rob took the initiative to look deeper into data.
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This lead poisoning issue reminds of a time when I attended middle and high school. I remember everyone in the hallway talking about something, I interrupted a conversation and asked. Their response was all the water in the building was affected by lead. Since I knew pencils were made from lead, I figured they were talking about the water having pencils inside. Of course, I was wrong. From the faculty and staff, we were all informed not to go near the water in the school until the afternoon. Not going near any of the water included not using the bathroom, drinking from the water fountains in the hallways, and watching hands at the sink. Everything was resolved in the afternoon like the faculty and staff told us. This is the only experience I have with lead poisoning.
Keeping a campus healthy is serious because no one wants to walk around an unhealthy campus. An unhealthy campus can make a teacher or student sick. To make a campus healthier concerned individuals can use the Healthy Campus 2020, which was adapted from the Healthy People 2020. This website explains how to go about helping a campus become healthier. The first step should be to understand the outlook and future for the coalition. Also, creating a list of people to help develop and implement the plan. Before asking people to help, a person should know how the people are going to assist, and what they could contribute. After the person has decided how the people are going to help and what will be contributed by them, next to a discussion between everyone should happen. This is important because a person needs to know how the campus is already keeping everything clean. ACHA (2015) says the second step is to access campus needs and assets (resources) to get a sense of what is realistic to accomplish. The person in charge of the coalition should gather the baseline information and work together to set guidelines. The third step is to figure out the definition of Healthy Campus 2020 at the school. A person needs to make a plan, consider times for intervention, and figure how to go about the information that has been provided so far. ACHA (2015) explains that the third step is to create a detailed work/ plan. Discuss responsibilities amongst the coalition members, start making communication opportunities. The opportunities might include meetings and events to advertise the plan about keeping the campus clean and healthy to the rest of the campus. The last step is to put the plan into action and keep track of the progress. Putting out announcements or continuing to advertise can be an effective way for people to pay attention.
An experience I have similar to this issue of keeping a campus safe was when I was in high school. My school started a program for helping the building stay clean and healthy. They started a recycling team. I was not on the team, but I watched the members of the group collect plastics and other recyclable things. First Lady, Michelle Obama, wanted to lower obesity, so she starts making the school breakfast and lunches healthy. At school, I was serving everything from all the food groups. The lunch staff served more vegetables, fruits, and protein. This made me elated because someone was now concerned about the safety and health of the people on my high school campus.
Work Cited
ACHA. (2015). MAP-IT Framework. Retrieved January 31, 2016, from https://www.acha.org/HealthyCampus/Implement/MAP-I...
HealthyPeople.gov. (2010). MAP-IT in Action – In the Community: A County Health Department Addresses Lead Poisoning. Retrieved January 31, 2016, from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/implement/leadPo...
