Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

New equipment to help Gurdon faculty get in shape

Bad health is lurking among Gurdons faculty and staff, and something is being done to help improve the problem.

Lisa Turner, Coordinated School Health coordinator, spoke at Thursdays Rotary Club meeting to announce that several of the faculty and staff throughout the district have high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol.

The findings were measured through screenings she offered to 60 participating faculty and staff members of Gurdon School District.

To try to resolve the problem, Turner conducted an online survey to find out what steps the faculty would be willing to take for a healthier lifestyle.

The majority response? They had no time to exercise at home, so they requested workout equipment in the lounges to exercise during their free time at work.

Seeking to complete the task, Turner asked for funding from the CSH grant to aid in the purchase of equipment in all three schools.

The grant, however, could not cover the funding for the entire district, so Turner went to the Cabe Foundation for the remaining $2,500.

Turner is positive that the new equipment will help the entire Gurdon School District a healthier one.

I think this is going to make us a healthier staff, she said, which, in turn, will trickle down to the students.

The vision statement of the CSH program is that the children and adolescents of Arkansas will become healthy, successful students and contributing members in their communities.

The Gurdon School District is one of 16 Arkansas schools with a CSH program.