develop and implement health literacy curriculum in Worcester County pub-
lic schools. Pictured, from left, are Michael Franklin, CEO of AGH; Todd Fer-
rante, vice chair of the AGH Foundation; Michelle Fager, chair of the Major
Gifts Committee of the AGH Foundation; Dawn Denton, community education
manager at AGH; and Bill Hetherington, executive director of the Arthur W.
Perdue Foundation.
dation, Atlantic General Hospital
(AGH), Worcester County Public
Schools (WCPS) and the University
of Maryland College Park School of
Public Health (UMCP) will seek to
develop new standards for health lit-
eracy in youth.
rated into the WCPS curriculum in
the 2014-2015 academic year.
Denton, community education man-
ager for AGH.
none existing in the entire United
States," she said.
came together to get the ball rolling
on crafting standards. The Arthur W.
Perdue Foundation is also playing a
big part by providing $40,000 worth
of funding towards the project,
which was presented to AGH
Tuesday.
education partners in their efforts to
enhance the health and quality of
life for children in Worcester Coun-
ty," said Bill Hetherington, executive
director of the foundation. "This cur-
riculum will engage children in their
formative years and provide valu-
able lessons for creating a founda-
tion for healthy living. We're proud
to invest in their future through this
funding from the foundation."
Once new standards are developed
and implemented, children in
grades K-12 will finally have a com-
prehensive program available to
teach them the basic building blocks
of good health, said Laura Deeley
supporting this exciting project. We
have the opportunity to instill basic
understanding and appreciation for
health and wellness and what
medical care can and cannot do for
you in people at a very early age,"
she said. "We will be providing them
an invaluable foundation for future
health."
looked but incredibly important tool
in combating the most common pre-
ventable health problems.
adoption of healthier lifestyles and
proper utilization of healthcare serv-
ices," he said. "Individuals have to
understand basic health principles
before they can become active and
effective partners in their own care.
We're very pleased with the plan
that has been put in place for the
Worcester County Public Schools."
Franklin. For younger students, it
could be as simple as promoting
good hygiene. In other grades, it
could mean everything from learn-
ing how to read medicine and food
labels critically to basic nutrition.
all means," Franklin said.
standards that are not in place any-
where in the country today. Once
developed, the standards created
by the Herschel S. Horowitz Center
for Health Literacy at UMCP are ex-
pected to be adopted by other Mary-
land public schools. AGH hopes that
the final product will be easy to inte-
grate into every grade level and will
allow teachers in subjects like math,
reading and social studies to offer
practical health education directly
through some of their lessons.
Rib Dinner