About Us

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

From October through December, 2009, 4th grade students at Sugar Camp and Rhinelander’s Central Elementary, Nativity of our Lord, Northwoods Community Secondary, as well as Trinity Lutheran and MHLT (Minocqua, Hazelhurst, Lake Tomahawk) schools across the Northwoods are once again being invited to participate in the annual Healthy People Healthy Oneida County 4th Grade Nutrition and Fitness Challenge.

“The Oneida County Health Plan has identified childhood obesity as one of four health priorities,” said Linda Conlon, director, Oneida County Health Department. “The Nutrition and Fitness Challenge is an annual collaborative effort between Healthy People Healthy Oneida County – Nutrition and Physical Activity Coalition, the schools involved, Marshfield Clinic and Ministry Health Care, to begin to address this serious health issue. Because of our partnership with Marshfield Clinic and Ministry Health Care, we are able to offer the fitness challenge to schools across the Northwoods again this year.”

The project aims to improve the health of youth by challenging them to practice physical activities every day.

“The challenge is based on the Movin’ and Munchin’ program developed by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction,” said Jay Halminiak, physical therapist, Marshfield Clinic Minocqua Center.

Highlights of the program:

• Parents are provided with permission slips for their children to participate.
• The program awards the children points for participating in healthy activities listed on the Activity Chart supplied to them.
• Throughout the project, youth are asked to track their time in healthy physical activities on the be-weekly record supplied to them - and parents and student are required to sign the record.
• Youth and their families are asked to participate in school community programs and activities.

“Youth who participate are rewarded for their successes,” Halminiak said.

The American Physical Therapy Association has donated a number of prizes for incentives including flashlights, pens, buttons, bike reflectors and brochures on healthy activities. Other incentives include gift certificates and day passes to the YMCA, bicycles donated by Wal-Mart, t-shirts, water bottles and pedometers. Rhinelander Ice Association and Lakeland Hawks Ice Association have contributed skate passes.

“Throughout the coming months there will be progress checks and then an end-of-program celebration where we will award the bikes to the winners in December,” Halminiak said.

For more information about this program contact Halminiak at Marshfield Clinic Minocqua Center; Rachel Gilbert at Ministry Health Care; Marilyn Duschl at the YMCA or Ann Ovsak at Oneida County Health Department in Rhinelander.

The Marshfield Clinic system provides patient care, research and education with 45 locations in northern, central and western Wisconsin, making it one of the largest comprehensive medical systems in the United States.