On Friday, May 25, 511 students from Meriden's learned that they didn’t need to be Spiderman or Batman to be a superhero! No, capes and special powers were not needed. The only thing these children would need to make them superheroes was knowledge brought to them by the Stroke Team.
Over 20 volunteers from Pavilion D, Physical Therapy, Social Work, the Diabetes Center, Speech Therapy and the Nursing Coordinators participated in a day-long stroke education event spearheaded by the success of an event two years ago where some Stroke Team members taught a class on how to call 9-1-1 in an emergency situation.
Students spent the entire day visiting a series of six stations that covered topics including: signs and symptoms of stroke, EMS response to stroke patients, healthy lifestyles, EMS apparatus overview, healthy food choices relay and occupational/physical therapy activities.
“It’s important to educate even the youngest children,” said Lori Nohilly, RN, director of Inpatient Medicine. “They need to learn about the risk factors of stroke now so they can make healthy choices and recognize the warning signs of stroke in case they ever need to get help for a loved one.”
Teachers and administrators at John Barry were pleased with the event and are hoping to do it again next year. “It was wonderfully organized, and I really think the kids got the message,” said first grade teacher Mrs. Tucci. “We’ve had a partnership with Pavilion D for 15 years, and although MidState isn’t considered a teaching hospital in the traditional sense, it very much is in terms of this relationship.”
Many thanks to all of the day’s volunteers and to Patricia Giannelli, APRN, Neuroscience service line leader and Michele Colby, RN, nurse manager of Pavilion D, for their time and leadership in helping to plan the event.
