Eastern Maine Healthcare Systems (EMHS) supports the 5-2-1-0 Goes to School
message across Aroostook, Hancock, Kennebec, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties. Formally, we are the Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project and Let’s Go! - EMHS. This affiliation allows us to share resources with other Let’s Go! groups across the state and serve more schools and communities.
Our program is based on the 5-2-1-0 Healthcare model created by the Maine Youth Overweight Collaborative and piloted by the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital. Since being introduced to 9 schools in 2006, 5-2-1-0 Goes to School has spread rapidly across the state. In 2008, EMHS picked up the program and began supporting it across the 7 counties in northern and eastern Maine. It is based on the following easy-to-remember message:
We are seeking to share our message of developing and promoting healthy lifestyles for youth, families and communities across Northern and Eastern Maine. 5-2-1-0 Goes to School focuses primarily on the traditional school setting with the hopes of changing awareness, environments and policies/practices to promote the development of good health habits that will carry throughout life. The framework of 5-2-1-0 Goes to School has been create to support and wok in tandem with other initiative and programs to achieve a common goal. 5-2-1-0 Goes to School strongly encourages the involvement of teachers, administrators, school nutrition programs, parents and students in the process of changing environments and developing good habits.
Through use of the 5-2-1-0 Goes to School framework, schools, teachers, nutrition programs and parents can support a healthier school environment, and encourage families to continue the healthy lifestyle practices outside of school. Listed below are 10 key strategies that can be used individually or collectively in schools to address the policies, practices and environments that influence healthy lifestyle behaviors.
10 Strategies for Success:
- Participate in local, state or national initiatives that promote physical activity and healthy eating. (5,2,1,0)
- Include community organizations in wellness promotion. (5,2,1,0)
Involve and educate families in initiatives that promote physical activity and healthy eating. (5,2,1,0)
Encourage water and low fat milk instead of sugar-sweetened drinks. (0)
Discourage the use of food as a reward; use physical activity as a reward. (5,1)
Incorporate physical activity into the school day. (1)
Develop a 5-2-1-0 friendly staff wellness program. (5,2,1,0)
Collaborate with School Nutrition Program. (5,0)
Implement or strengthen a wellness policy that supports the 5-2-1-0 strategies (5,2,1,0)
Encourage healthy choices for snacks and celebrations. (5,0)
Recognizing that in order for change to be successful it needs to be integrated into all facets of the community, the Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project at EMHS also supports 5-2-1-0 Goes to Childcare, 5-2-1-0 Healthcare, and is working to bring the 5-2-1-0 message to afterschool programs and workplaces throughout our region. By developing consistent messaging across all of these venues, we hope to encourage, inspire and support changes that lead to healthier communities across northern and eastern Maine.
We acknowledge that there is a whole host of resources available for all of these sectors to work with in order to make healthy changes in their setting. Hopefully, our resources can help all facilities to bring their resources together under one umbrella and deliver an easy-to-remember, consistent message. EMHS’ Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project is here to provide support to communities and collaborating partners, either through tangible resources (such as the 5-2-1-0 Goes to School tool kits), or through mini-grants and financial resources that provide facilities the opportunity to purchase health and recreation equipment, or even through the simple act of connecting programs throughout our vast region so that ideas can be shared an built upon as we all aim to improve the health of our communities. All efforts, campaigns and projects will be locally owned and controlled-EMHS' Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project is proud to provide "behind-the-scenes" support.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us. If you have ideas, suggestions, requests or questions we want to hear them! We will use all the resources that we have available to us to help make sure that you have the success you are looking for in your facility!
Lee M. Averill, MHA, L-ATC, CSCS
Program Associate, Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project
5-2-1-0 Goes To School Coordinator
EMHS - Community Health
43 Whiting Hill Road, Suite 500
Brewer, ME 04412
207-973-7042
laverill@emh.org
Erin Whitehouse, M. Ed
Program Coordinator, Youth Healthy Lifestyle Project
Let’s Go! – EMHS
43 Whiting Hill Road, Suite 500
Brewer, ME 04412
207-973-9646
ewhitehouse@emh.org
5-2-1-0 Goes to School is partially funded in the EMHS region by a grant from the Federal Centers for Disease Control.