January 17, 2011

Des Moines, January 17, 2011 – 

WHAT:  A Dose of Truth: Things We Don’t Want to Talk About

A parent and student informational dinner  
Sponsored by: Central Iowa Area Health Education Centers (AHEC),  Des Moines Public Schools Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) and Lincoln High School

AHEC is a regional program that educates students about career options in health care.
GEAR UP is a national initiative to significantly increase the number of students who are prepared to succeed in postsecondary education. 

WHEN:    Thursday, January 20, 2011  
                 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.  
                 Dinner and presentation from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. 
                 Topical break-out sessions from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

WHERE: Lincoln High School Commons Area
                 2600 Southwest 9th Street 
                 Des Moines, IA 50315

Youth Building Healthy Communities (YBHC) is a Central Iowa AHEC after school program for students interested in exploring public health through guest speaker presentations, field trips and hands-on activities. Students in the Lincoln High School YBHC program created a survey to determine what health issues affected students most on a daily basis. Data from 590 valid surveys showed that 70 percent of the students surveyed ranked drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy and bullying as the top three issues of highest concern at their school. 

The informational evening is planned around the results of the survey. Mike Wenger, Prevention Specialist from Employee and Family Resources (EFR) and Mike Rozga will present during the  dinner hour. Rozga will share the personal story of his son, David Rozga, an Indianola teenager who tragically committed suicide a few hours after smoking K2, a synthetic version of marijuana. The dinner topic will focus on ways for families to discuss the risks and signs of drug use in the community, at school and in the home, including prescription, over-the-counter and illegal drugs.

Following dinner, students and family members can attend break-out sessions from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.  Various community presenters will lead 20-minute discussions on drugs and alcohol, teen pregnancy and bullying, allowing attendees to participate in all three sessions. Presenters will provide education to increase awareness and give parents and students tools to continue discussions at home regarding ways to deal with issues the students face among friends and peers at school. 

INTERVIEW AND PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES:  

Speakers, presenters and representatives will be available before and after the dinner and break-out sessions. Break-out session presentations include: 

• Sarah Tompkins, Polk County Health Department, will present on teen pregnancy.
• Karolyn Zeller, Heartland AEA 11, and Penny Bisignano, Olweus Bullying Prevention Program, will present on bullying. 
• Allison Kupka and Erin Bowers, both from EFR will present on drugs and alcohol.

The Hope! Drama Troupe will be performing a skit on the challenges that bombard today’s youth.   

About AHEC: 

AHEC is a regional network that recruits and retains health professionals in underserved areas. Each center educates youth about healthcare careers, offers clinical training sites for health profession students and supports healthcare practitioners with continuing education opportunities. The Central Iowa AHEC opened its doors in November 2008 at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines and serves Boone, Dallas, Greene, Guthrie, Jasper, Polk, Poweshiek and Story counties. They are supported by the Des Moines University AHEC Program Office. To learn more about the Central Iowa Area Health Education Center, please visit www.centraliowaahec.org. 

About Broadlawns Medical Center:

With a history that reaches back to 1903 as a community health center, Broadlawns Medical Center first opened its doors as a hospital to the residents of Polk County on April 13, 1924. Over the years, Broadlawns has adapted to the changing demands of public health care, yet remained true to its mission of offering quality health services to all Polk County residents and training tomorrow’s health care professionals. Today, Broadlawns Medical Center is composed of: 

• An acute care community hospital serving medical, surgical, mental health and primary care needs
• A 60-member physician practice overseeing numerous specialty clinics and outpatient services
• A Family Medicine Residency Program that graduates physician leaders who today serve in 22 of Iowa’s 99 counties 

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