This is the first year we have applied. It is a special honor for everyone at Children’s. We work hard to support our employee’s knowledge and skill needs, and maintain a competitive work environment.

The health system invests in various resources to ensure new employees are successfully oriented to their jobs and that current employees have the training support they need as medical technology and evidence-based practice evolves.

Beyond our own employees, Children’s Hospital and Health System is committed to educating the future pediatric work force and the communities we serve.

• We host over 1,000 clinical student placements for future nurses and allied health professionals completing their college course work.
• We sponsor specialty conferences and events on pediatric topics that are open to health care providers and lay persons from the community.
• Programs provided by the Children’s Health Education Center educate our community on important child health topics such as dental health, safety, teen health and more.

Our mission spells out CARE: Caring, Advocacy, Research and Education. There’s a lot going in the “E.” The success of Children’s Hospital and Health System depends on our employees and the children and families we serve having access to the right support when and where they need it.

We’re truly an organization that values learning, and I’m glad to be a partner in it. I’m thankful for everyone who contributes to our commitment to education.

-Chris Jensen, director, Educational Services, Children’s Hospital and Health System

Learn more about Children’s Hospital and Health System at chw.org.

It sounds simple, but talking to your kids about eating healthy works. A recent poll found that 82 percent of Milwaukee kids who talk with their families on a monthly basis about eating healthy eat more fruits and vegetables and drink more water. Overall, they’re more likely to eat healthy foods. I recommend following the tips to help foster your child’s healthy habits today.

Serve a variety of healthy foods. Eating a variety of healthy foods helps us get the nutrients our bodies need. Take your child to the grocery store to see the number of fruits and vegetables available. I often let my daughter pick out one or two I normally wouldn’t buy. Together, we create healthy snacks with our choices.

Be a role model by eating healthy yourself. To encourage healthy eating in your child, eat well yourself. Have fruits and vegetables around the house. Limit portion sizes. Tell your kids when you feel full.

Involve kids in your family’s healthy lifestyle. Most kids like to help make decisions about what the family eats. Include your child in meal planning, grocery shopping and reviewing food labels. Have your child help prepare a meal. Talk about what you prepare and why it is healthy. By letting your child participate, you can help create a lifetime of healthy choices in your child.

Have your kids put their decision-making skills to the test at the Kohl’s Healthy Kids: It’s Your Move! exhibit at Betty Brinn Children’s Museum in Milwaukee. This awesome, new exhibit is a giant board game full of health-related activities and challenges your kids can complete.

One activity puts kids in the driver’s seat – literally. Sitting inside a car, they must order a meal from the drive through of a fast-food restaurant. Healthy choices are awarded by advancing on to the next challenge.

Kohl’s Healthy Kids: It’s Your Move! was developed in partnership with Children’s Hospital and Health System and brought to you by Kohl’s Department Stores. Learn more at bbcmkids.org.

-Colleen Schultz, education manager, Children’s Health Education Center

As parents, we can do a lot to make our kids safer drivers. First, don’t wait until your teen turns 15 1/2? to start talking about safe driving. Many teens are front seat passengers long before they are driving. Take advantage of this time to point out safe and unsafe driving that you see on the road.

Second, be a role model for your teen. If you want your teen to wear a seat belt, obey the speed limit and drive defensively, you need to do these things yourself.

You also can talk to your teen about your expectations for safe driving. You may assume that your teen knows the rules, but it’s important take time to talk about them. When you do, make sure to discuss common factors in many teen crashes:

• Make sure everyone in the car is buckled up.
• Prohibit cell phone use, both talking and texting.
• Limit other distractions in the car (music, things rolling around).
• Restrict the number of passengers in the car.
• Minimize nighttime driving.
• Talk about speeding, using alcohol and other risk-taking behaviors.

Finally, you can form a contract between you and your teen driver to spell out the expectations. When my daughter started driving, we talked about these things and each added a special key to our keychains to represent our agreement. When she gets in the car, she has a reminder right in her hand. We received ours from www.k-e-y-s.com, but you can go to any hardware store and pick out two matching keys.

Some families prefer to use a written contract. Many examples can be found through insurance companies, auto manufacturers and health and safety agencies.

Be sure to look for Children’s Health Education Center’s Cruise Control program at the Milwaukee Auto Show Sunday, Feb. 28. We’ll have sample contracts available and can answer questions regarding your teen driver.

Check out BlueKids.org/CruiseControl for more information.

-Deena Liska, motor vehicle safety educator, Children’s Health Education Center

It’s as simple as turning on the tunes and moving your body. Dancing improves balance and strengthens your muscles and bones. Getting your groove on increases confidence and energy levels, relieves stress, and helps you sleep better at night. Children love doing things as a family. They especially love seeing their parents acting silly.

The goal of a dancing session is to break a sweat, get your heart beating faster and lungs breathing faster so it is not as easy to talk. Dance moves can include shaking arms and legs, stepping in different directions, squatting up and down or whatever your family wants to create. Moving your body through these dance moves works all major muscle groups, improves posture, strength and stamina. No equipment or gym memberships are required, just some music, a space in your home and comfortable clothes to get funky in.

What are you waiting for? Get your family together, turn on the music and start dancing!

Your dance moves also could help Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin win $30,000. Upload a 30-second dance video clip of your family at www.familydanceoff.com.

-Stacy Stolzman, MPT, physical therapist, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

In football alone, there are 100,000 concussions per year. Whether you’re an Olympian, high school athlete or simply sledding in the park, helmets are essential safety gear.

When buying a helmet, it’s important to remember a few guidelines:

• Make sure the helmet fits and your kids know how to put it on correctly. The risk of head injury doubles if the helmet is worn wrong.
• Helmets are made for specific activities (like skiing or football), so be sure you buy the right one. All helmets have warning labels on them about appropriate use. When in doubt, ask a trained professional for help.
• Be sure the helmet meets or exceeds safety standards.

For sports like hockey, facemasks have been shown to help prevent injuries too. Full-cage facemasks or those with visors are better than the half-visor style because they decrease the force of the impact during a collision.

Although no helmet can prevent all concussions, wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by as much as 85 percent.

Winners wear helmets. Enjoy the Olympics and go USA!

-Brian R. Butler, DPT, ATC/L, Physical Therapy, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Clinics-Greenway

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

The U.S. Transplant Games are Olympic-style events for transplant recipients to compete for gold, silver and bronze medals in 13 sporting events. Opening and closing ceremonies along with other celebrations make the U.S. Transplant Games an extremely amazing experience as you realize the health challenges participants have overcome to be there.

Recipients of hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, pancreases, intestines and bone marrow have an opportunity meet other recipients and their families, celebrate life through athletic competitions and promote the success of donation and transplantation.

The events are designated for transplant recipients, living donors and donor families, transplant supporters and all other family members and friends. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in the games since 1998, shortly after I received a heart transplant.

Prior to my transplant, I had difficulty walking more than a few feet without becoming short of breath and faint. Since my transplant, I work, participate in sporting events and enjoy time with my wife and three young sons. All things I would never have experienced without a heart transplant.

Do you know a transplant recipient or donor family? Encourage them to participate or attend.

For more information regarding the Transplant Games, visit kidney.org/news/tgames/index.cfm.

-Tom Demski, Transplant Services manager, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

Assembly Bill 725 will require all schools in Wisconsin to offer enrolled high school students instruction in lifesaving skills.

In situations when an emergency happens, time is of the essence. Many lives can be saved because people at the scene of a cardiac emergency have the necessary tools to recognize and respond appropriately.

Cardiovascular diseases remain Wisconsin’s No. 1 killer, yet many lives can be saved if simple lifesaving procedures are initiated by lay rescuers. By providing simple instruction in the high school setting, our young adults will have an increased comfort level and the necessary tools to help save a life.

The American Heart Association and the American Red Cross also are working hard to promote this important legislation.

Please urge your legislators to support AB725 by e-mailing them today through our Children’s Advocacy Network.

You can help with just a click of the button and a short message to your state senator and representative. Why not take a moment to help?

-Michelle Mettner, vice president, Government Relations and Advocacy, Children’s Hospital and Health System

Learn more about Children’s Hospital and Health System at chw.org.

Aerobic activity makes our hearts stronger and more efficient at pumping blood. Including year-round aerobic activity not only keeps our hearts healthy but our minds and bodies as well. Even during the cold winter months, it’s possible to exercise both indoors and outdoors.

As the temperatures continue to drop, it becomes less desirable to choose outdoor activities for exercise. With proper clothing, walking or running outside still is an option. Fun ways to stay active and get physical activity during the winter months include:

• Playing in the snow.
• Having a snowball fight.
• Building a snowman or fort.
• Sledding.
• Shoveling.
• Going ice skating.
• Playing hockey.

Aerobic snow sports offer exciting options, too.

• Cross-country skiing is a total body, low impact workout.
• Snowshoeing is a sport similar to hiking. While wearing snowshoes, you can walk, run or hike.
• Downhill skiing is the most common winter sport. It improves balance and flexibility while strengthening muscles.
• Snowboarding increases coordination and strengthens leg muscles.

Each of these sports can burn 400 calories per hour with moderate effort.

For kids and parents who are new to aerobic outdoor winter sports, winterfeelsgood.com provides resources for all ages. There, you can learn everything you need to know about each sport before gearing up this winter. Online educational “tool kits” offer quizzes and games for kids and information for adults. Pre-sport exercises also are available as handouts to get bodies prepared for new activities.

In addition, check with your local recreation department for winter sports offered.

-Stacy Stolzman, MPT, physical therapist, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. She works closely with the NEW (Nutrition, Exercise and Weight Management) Kids™ Program at the hospital.

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, Feb. 13, and Sunday, Feb. 14, and join us for the Great American Soccer Marrowthon!

As someone who sees children – from infants to young adults – with cancer and other blood disorders such as aplastic anemia and sickle cell anemia every day, I know just how important marrow donation is. Thousands of patients with leukemia and other life-threatening disease can be saved through transplants.

To help raise awareness, The Milwaukee Kickers Soccer Club will be hosting the second annual Great American Soccer Marrowthon this weekend. The event will feature 24 hours of continuous soccer to benefit Be The Match and the Milwaukee Kickers Soccer Club.

Here are the highlights for this weekend:

• Meet Kate Markgraf, co-captain of the USA Women’s Olympic Gold Medal Soccer Team. She’ll be signing autographs Saturday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. She will have her medals in hand for you to see!
• Sign up to get in on the soccer fun.
• Sign up for the Be The Match donor registry.
• Donate blood on Saturday. Blood donations are important for children going through chemotherapy.

Join us this weekend!

-David Margolis, MD, program director, Blood and Marrow Transplant, Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin

Learn more about Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin at chw.org.

Editor’s note: To celebrate the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver which begin Friday, Feb. 12, we’ll be publishing several sport-themed blogs throughout the 16-day run. Enjoy!