Park Rx: Exploring an Innovative Prescription Program
How are nature and human health linked? What role do public health and health care workers play in connecting patients and the general public to nature?
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Course Information
- Audience: Public health and health professions students and faculty, interested community members
- Format: Webinar
- Date/Time: Thursday 11th March, 12 – 1PM ET
- Price: Free
- Length: 1 hour
- Credential(s) eligible for contact hours: Sponsored by New England Public Health Training Center (NEPHTC), a designated provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) in health education by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. This program is designated for Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES) and/or Master Certified Health Education Specialists (MCHES) to receive up to 1 total Category I continuing education contact hours. Maximum advanced-level continuing education contact hours are 1. Provider ID: 1131137 Event ID: PM1131137_03112021. If you are not seeking a CHES/MCHES contact hours, if you complete the post-test and evaluation, you will receive a Certificate of Completion. The Certificate will include the length of the course.
- Competencies: Community Partnership Skills
- Learning Level: Awareness
- Companion Trainings: None
- Supplemental materials:Power point
- Pre-requisites: None
About this Webinar
More than 100 million Americans suffer from a chronic disease, which are responsible for 7 in 10 deaths in the U.S. each year. Park Rx America began as a community health initiative that aims to prevent and treat chronic disease and promote wellness by prescribing and linking patients to their local parks. Now, their searchable park database links parks to clinic Electronic Health Records, and can be used by healthcare and public health professionals to share with patients in their community.
What you'll learn
At the end of the webinar, participants will be able to:
- Describe the current epidemic of chronic disease, including physical and mental health diseases, and research about spending time in nature as beneficial for health
- Review the planning, development, and implementation of Park Rx
- Explain how health care and public health professionals can prescribe parks and utilize existing online databases for patient education
- Learn about the Park Rx program in the Greater Portland, Maine-area
Subject Matter Experts
Dr. Stacy Beller Stryer
Pediatrician and Associate Medical Director for Park Rx America
Courtney L. Schultz, Ph.D.
Research
Fellow for
Park Rx
America
Jessica Burton
Executive Director of the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative
Dr. Stacy Beller Stryer is a pediatrician and associate medical director for Park Rx America, where she educates healthcare providers, schools, and park agencies on benefits of nature and nature prescriptions; and works with organizations and the core team to strategize ways to move this mission forward. She is a frequent speaker at conferences and other media outlets and has published on this topic. Dr. Beller Stryer previously served as a health promotion and disease prevention coordinator in the Indian Health Service and was a pediatric subject expert for an online health website, Revolution Health. She currently works with her local school system to increase awareness and promote outdoor classrooms and green schoolyards and serves on Governor Hogan's task force for "Project Green Classrooms.” She wants others to benefit from nature as much as she has through the years.
Courtney L. Schultz, Ph.D. is the Research Fellow for Park Rx America. Dr. Schultz is a social science researcher with an expertise in the design and execution of behavioral research across the lifespan focusing on integrating nature exposure into a salutogenic healthcare approach. In addition to her work with Park Rx America, Dr. Schultz is the Executive Director of Health and Technology Partners LLC, a consulting firm dedicated to improving wellbeing through cooperative partnership with healthcare providers, communities, and natural resources; Adjunct Faculty at the University of Missouri; and sits on the advisory board for the SHIFT Emerging Leaders Program and Hike it Baby. Dr. Schultz holds a Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management from NC State University, along with a BS and a MS in Parks and Recreation Management from the University of Missouri.
Jessica Burton has been the Executive Director of the Southern Maine Conservation Collaborative (Collaborative) since its founding in 2012. The Collaborative works as a network of land and water conservation organizations in Southern Maine and seeks to build strategic partnerships to expand conservation's reach for greater relevance and healthier communities. Over the last year, with support from NEPHTC and in partnership with the University of New England, the Collaborative has started a Park Rx program in Portland, Maine.
Registration
Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this webinar. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact support@nephtc.org.
Acknowledgement: This project is/was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31685 “Regional Public Health Training Center Program.” This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.