Newsletter Winter08.pub

651 South Limestone St.
Springfield, OH 45505
Phone: 937-324-1111
...Because every child
deserves a medical home.
Rocking Horse Center opened in 1999
with the goal of
providing comprehensive health care
to 1,500 patients
regardless of their insurance status
or ability to pay for
enhanced medical services. Now, in 2007
, Rocking Horse
has become the medical home for more
than 10,000
children whose visits total over 30,0
00 appointments each year. With programs
like
Healthy Steps, CHAMPS (Coordinating
Habilitation And Maximizing Potential), Reac
h Out &
Read, Child and Family Therapy and our
ability to coordinate and refer, our patie
nts
receive the most comprehensive care
avail
able
under one roof!
Please clip or rip and place in our
HORSE SENSE SUGGESTIONS BOX
located at the front desk!
I would like to read articles about:
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Volume 1, Issue 3
Winter 2008
In This Issue!
In This Issue!
Important
Car Seat info
Pg 2
Kid got a cold?
CHILL OUT
Bullying
facts
Pg 4
Tips for helping your sick one feel better!
Tell us what
you think!
Win Free
Stuff!
Bring on the heat. Hot drinks soothe coughs and sore
throats while also clearing mucus. So get your kid to
eat (or drink) their chicken soup! Get steamed up. A steamy
shower helps stuffy or irritated noses. Or run a humidifier to relieve
scratchy throat, stuffy nose, and itchy eyes. Humidifiers make room air
moist, which loosens mucus. Practice healthy habits. Kids’ immune
systems will be ready to fight colds if they eat a balanced diet, get plenty
of sleep, and keep their body fit through exercise. Blow their horn.
Blowing the nose is the best way to get rid of mucus. Rest. Have them
take a nap or go to bed a little earlier for a few nights. De-stress. Kids
who are stressed out feel worse when they have colds. Have them relax
and use the time to read, listen to music, or watch a movie. In other
words, get your kid to chill out and you might prevent a cold!
Please write an article about
Safety issues for my family
Local items of interest
What’s going on here at RHC
_____________________________
_____________________________
_____________________________
Activities for kids
This reduces the spread of germs by hand-to-hand contact.
Name _____________________
⇒ Make sure your children don't share eating utensils or other
Phone _____________________
personal items. Viruses usually enter the body through the mouth or
nose.
WIN FREE MOVIE TICKETS!!
Information for parents
⇒ Teach your children to sneeze or cough into a tissue.
Put your suggestions in the box at
the front desk for a chance to win
FREE PASSES to Chakeres Cinema 5
and Cinema 10!
⇒ Encourage your children to wash their hands often and long.
Singing the ABCs song during the process helps.
⇒ Clean surfaces that people touch a lot—like doorknobs, faucets
and counter tops. We spread germs most often with our hands.
Cool coloring Pg 5
Where There’s Pg 6
smoke
Pg 7
• Yep, that’s right! Can
you believe it? This
is the third issue of
Horse Sense – the
newsletter designed
with you in mind!
• Thank you so much
for filling out our
response form and
letting us know what
you would like to
read about.
• Five readers’ names
have already been
drawn to receive
movie passes!
Congratulations!
Check To Make Sure You
are Choosing and Using
Car Seats Correctly!
√
Use a rear-facing car seat for your
baby up to at least age 1. The rear
facing position is the safest even when
the baby outgrows the
infant seat and moves
to an upright seat.
The sloping back of
the baby’s seat supports the head and
neck reducing the
chance of serious
spinal injuries.
√
Buckle up your baby in the back seat,
the back seat is safer for all children.
√
Air Bag Warning. Never put your baby
in the front seat with a passenger air
bag. The air bag can open with great
force, faster than you can blink. If you
have a small truck or sports car, do not
carry your baby in front under any
circumstances unless the air bag has
been shut off.
√
Page 2
Read and follow the car seat
instructions! Check the vehicle
owner’s manual for tips on installing the
seat.
√
Put the seat belt in the correct,
marked path to hold the seat in
place. Make the belt tight so the car
seat moves less than 1 inch forward
or side to side.
√
Be careful with used car
seats. Make sure you have the
instructions and check for any
recalls on the seat. Make sure
the seat has not been in a crash ,
which could cause hidden damage.
Learn More:
Call SafetyBeltSafe
USA Helpline at 1-800-745
SAFE (7233) for answers to specific
questions about infant car seats.
Alternative heat sources are acceptable, but are also
a major contributing factor in home fires when they
are not monitored and operated safely.
Kerosene Heaters:
Never use fuel burning appliances without proper room venting ( kerosene, coal
and propane all produce deadly fumes). Never fill your heater while it is
operating and ONLY use the fuel recommended by the manufacturer. Keep
flammable liquids stored in approved metal containers, in well-ventilated storage
areas outside of your home. Inspect your heater for carbon build-up and make
sure it has a emergency shutoff in case it is tipped over.
STARTING FEB 1, 2008
HAVE YOUR CAR SEAT
INSTALLED BY A
CERTIFIED PROFESSIONAL! CALL
ANITA AT THE CLARK COUNTY
COMBINED HEALTH DISTRICT:
390-5600 Ext 224
Volume 1, Issue 3
Common Sense Tips:
Make sure every level of your home has a smoke detector that works and has
batteries installed. Change the batteries at least once a year. Never use a range or
an oven to heat your home. Never discard hot ashes from your fireplace or wood
burner in or near your home. Avoid using electric portable heaters in the
bathroom or in other areas where they could come in contact with water.
Volume 1, Issue 3
Page 7
With the outrageously high cost of utilities and fuels
to heat the home, many people are using alternative
methods to provide warmth during the winter.
Portable Heaters:
Never operate a portable heater unless an adult is in the room and awake at all
times. These heaters should not be run when the family is sleeping, not at home
or left to run in a room with no adult supervision. Put at least 36 inches of space
between the heater and person or object, such as curtains, furniture or paper in
the room. Never use extension cords with portable heaters. Make sure to vacuum
and clean the dust from the heater.
Still, it’s cold outside and
we stay inside and our
metabolism slows. Shorter
days and longer nights
cause feelings of
depression and fatigue.
Lack of sunlight makes us
lethargic and sluggish and
increases our cravings for
high-calorie foods and fatty
carbs. Inclement weather
limits our exercise options
and one good snowfall will
keep us from going to the
gym.
So what’s a body to do?
Experts say to increase
your protein intake, stock
up on fresh fruits and
veggies, and get outside and
move it to lose it!
Make Friends With Winter Weather!
Snow Painting—Hit the fresh air with your kids and a little food coloring
mixed with water in a spray or squeeze bottle. Build sculptures to decorate, or
just write your name in the snow!
Fireplace & Wood Burning Stoves:
Have your wood burning stove, fireplace and chimney inspected and cleaned
once a year. Never leave a fire unattended or leave children alone in the room.
Keep a glass or metal screen in front of the opening of your fireplace or wood
burner to keep embers and sparks from jumping out, and to keep unwanted
material from going in. Never burn charcoal indoors.
Page 6
Hibernation, or
something close to it,
comes naturally for humans
during months that end in
u-a-r-y. We follow those
deep-seated instincts to
beef up, even though our
survival hardly depends on
it. Back in the day, an
extra pound or two could
mean the difference in
surviving the winter. In
present times, with the
grocery store right down
the street and fast food
on every corner, the
starvation issue rarely
come up.
Volume 1, Issue 3
Animal Tracking—Take a hike! Bundle up the family and head to one of our
fantastic parks to follow bunny and deer footprints.
Sun Bathing — One hour of direct sunlight a day will do wonders for your
mood and increase your brain’s production of serotonin which helps to combat
those pesky cravings. Walk at lunch or get out and throw a snowball or two!
Volume 1, Issue 3
Page 3
ARE YOU
BEING
BULLIED?
Expect
Respect
Bullying has become a national
epidemic. Studies show that
77% of students are involved
in bullying, either as the victim
or the bully, and most of the
bullying behavior takes place
in front of other students.
Teens who watch bullying
usually feel helpless for not
standing up to the bully on
behalf of their friend. They
can also feel afraid that
someday this will happen to
them.
When someone is hurt or
scared on purpose by another
person, they are being bullied.
Bullying takes many forms. It
can be verbal, physical, social,
emotional and even cyber.
Name calling, pushing, shoving
or kicking, keeping someone
out of a group, spreading
Page 4
≈
Let someone know
this is happening!
Tell it until someone
hears you.
≈
Be strong in not
responding. Stay calm
and don’t act upset or
angry. Practice confidence
and hold your head high.
rumors, stealing or
destroying
property, sending cruel
emails - these are all forms
of bullying.
Indifference to bullying and
an atmosphere of
entitlement, where school
administrations, teachers and
other students take no action,
allows bullying behavior to
thrive.
You can make a difference.
Get with your group of friends
and decide that you will not
make fun of someone you think
is different, nor will you stand
back and watch while others do
it. A simple “that’s not cool,”
and refusal to participate
makes a big statement.
Encourage the bullied teen to
talk to a parent or trusted
adult. Give your support!
Baby it’s Cold Outside!
≈
Remember that bullying is
not a normal part of
growing up and it is not
your fault. Educate
yourself and educate
others.
a
Rocking Horse Center’s
Social Cruelty to Social
Caring Group meets
every Tuesday for 8
weeks starting February
5th from 6 to 7:30 pm.
Please mention your interest today to your
nurse, nurse practitioner
or doctor.
Volume 1, Issue 3
b
Spotthedog’sworldis
blackandwhite!Canyou
Volume 1, Issue 3
What’smissingonthis
snowman?Canyoudraw
inthedetails?
Page 5