MVUSD Health Academies Partner with UCR Family Medicine Residency Program at RCRMC to Stage “Fit & Fun Health Fair”

“Our community is dying of lifestyle diseases.” With those words from Dr. Shunling Tsang three years ago was born a unique, collaborative community-health program that trains students at MVUSD’s three high school health academies to become community health educators through the Healthy Eating and Lifestyle Promotion (H.E.L.P.) in the Community Project. Saturday, April 18, 500 MVUSD health academy students will join doctors from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) Family Residency Program at Riverside County Regional Medical Center (RCRMC) to stage a first-of-its-kind community Health Fair in Moreno Valley, with the goal of changing lifestyles and, in the process, saving lives. “We’ve been building up to this since our three health academies began partnering with RCRMC several years ago,” said Canyon Springs High School Health Careers Academy Director Sharon Scott. “As far as we know, this is the only event of its kind anywhere in the nation. The H.E.L.P. Project has been gaining notoriety across the country.” Health academies at Canyon Springs, Vista del Lago and Valley View high schools are working together to host the community Fit & Fun Health Fair. “Our students received a silver medal at the HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) State Leadership Conference for a presentation they made to elementary students based on the education provided by the H.E.L.P. Project,” said Cindi Dolan, Vista del Lago Allied Health Coordinator. “The health-education pipeline is now reaching younger children in our community, as well as our students’ families.” “The H.E.L.P. Project has allowed the Health Academy students at Valley View to develop their understanding of nutrition through hands-on activities developed by the doctors at RCRMC, which they are now using to teach others,” added Katherine Martin, Valley View Health Academy Coordinator. For MVUSD students, the community Health Fair is the culminating event of a year’s worth of instruction from doctors at RCRMC about a wide variety of health issues, including how to explain the potential health risks and benefits of the daily lifestyle decisions we all make each day. Now, students are ready to reach out to the community with their new-found knowledge to make a positive, long-lasting difference in people’s lives. The Fit & Fun Health Fair is set for Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Canyon Springs High School, 23100 Cougar Canyon Road, in Moreno Valley. Visitors can receive free health screenings, including blood-pressure checks; learn about healthy cooking from a professional chef; get more information about simple ways to become more physically active on a daily basis; become familiar with yoga and martial arts, and much more. MVUSD health academies students will be presenting on their selected health topics, supported by UCR Family Medicine doctors at RCRMC, UCR Mini Medical School, and the RCRMC Mobile Health Clinic.