Events

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Safe Schools For All - Jackson - CLOSED
Parish Nurse Registration
Summer Institute

Safe Schools For All - Jackson

May 13, 2008
Hilton Convention Center
7710 Granite Loop Road
Jackson, WY
Breakfast & Registration begin at 8am

What is the Safe Schools for All Workshop?
The Safe Schools For All Workshop focuses on school safety issues facing sexual minority youth: gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and transsexual (GLBT) young people, youth with sexual minority parents, as well as straight youth and youth who are perceived to be gay.

Why is this Workshop needed?
The Safe Schools for All Workshop addresses the individual and group safety needs facing sexual minority youth in their schools and communities. Sexual minority youth are vulnerable to suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, abandonment from friends and families, as well as high risk for dropping out of school or not achieving their full educational potential. Making schools and communities safer and more affirming for sexual minority youth is an essential step in moving these young people out of these high-risk categories. This is a critical step, but is particularly important in isolated small towns and rural schools.

What is included in the Safe Schools For All Workshop?
The workshop consists of videos, related handouts and follow-up materials. The video Teaching Respect For All is often used as a base to develop awareness of the issues facing GLBT youth in schools and communities. Attention is also given to skill development: how to interrupt harassment and educate around these issues. A focus on vulnerability to suicide amongst sexual minority youth will also be presented and discussed.

Participants will receive:

one night of lodging covered by the “Improving the Health and Educational Outcomes of Youth” grant on the Wyoming Health Council’s direct bill the night of arrival prior to the conference;
CEU’s may be available for mental health, PTSB, nursing, and UW Enrichment;
breakfast and lunch provided at the training;
school district reimbursement for cost of substitute teachers

Trainers’ Credentials:
Mark Houser, formerly a classroom teacher, currently coaches the Speech and Debate Team at Jackson Hole High School, in Jackson, Wyoming. For the last fourteen years, he has been active in addressing the issues facing GLBT youth. This workshop has been presented in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Mark helped establish the Wyoming Teen Human Rights Network, a Centers for Disease Control funded outreach program for sexual minority youth on HIV/AIDS and sexuality issues. He has created curricula, arranged site logistics and spearheaded recruitment for Youth Leadership Institutes; summer programs addressing tolerance and diversity issues. Mark cofounded the Jackson Hole Middle School Human Rights Club. He is a founding member of Jackson PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) and is a former board member of the Northwest Coalition for Human Dignity. He also serves on the Teton County Suicide Prevention Coalition and the Wyoming Youth Suicide Prevention Advisory Council. Mark was formerly the Network Coordinator for the Rural Organizing Project, a non-profit organization working to advance social and economic justice across rural Oregon. In Oregon, he provided leadership to the Portland Public Schools Sexual Minority Parents' Advisory Group and the Multnomah County, Oregon funded Sexual Minority Youth Network Coordination Project.
Keith Hotle is the Suicide Prevention Program Manager and the Youth Initiative Project Director at the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Division, Wyoming Department of Health.

To Register:
Registration for the Jackson workshop is now closed.

In Jackson (Teton Village):

The conference will be held on May 13, 2008 from 9 am to 4 pm at the Snake River Lodge and Spa, 7710 Granite Loop Road, in Teton Village, in the Sundance Room.
Breakfast and registration will begin at 8:00 am in the Sundance Lobby.
Registration deadline is April 12, 2008.
HOTEL: The Wyoming Health Council direct bill will cover the cost of your hotel room at the Snake River Lodge and Spa for the night of arrival prior to the conference, Monday, May 12, 2008. If you plan to stay the night at the hotel on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, the hotel will honor the room block rate of $91 per night, but this cost will be the responsibility of the participant. Please contact Susie Markus at smarkus@wyhc.org or (307) 632-3640 to reserve your hotel
room.

Download the Safe Schools For All Flyer.

For more information contact:
Susie Markus
Wyoming Health Council
smarkus@wyhc.org
(307) 632-3640.

2nd Annual Wyoming Parish / Faith Community Nurse Basic Preparation Course A Non-Denominational, Ecumenical Event

June 15 - 19, 2008
St. Christopher’s Episcopal
Church (parish hall),
2602 Deming Blvd.,
Cheyenne, WY
Event begins Sunday June 15, 2008 at 1:30 pm and ends at noon Thursday June 19th.

WHAT IS HEALTH MINISTRY/PARISH NURSING?
This 35-hour parish nurse / faith community nurse continuing education, basic preparation course is for nurses that hold an active, valid RN license. This non-denominational, ecumenical course is based on curriculum developed through the International Parish Nurse Resource Center, St. Louis, MO in cooperation with the Health Ministries Association Inc., Rosewell, GA.

A parish nurse/faith community nurse is called and committed to the tradition of healing ministry. Each serves a faith community to help meet emotional, physical and spiritual needs. The parish nurse/faith community nurse may be a paid or unpaid member of church staff working with the congregation and local community to establish and sustain a health ministry program. A parish nurse/health ministry program is generally developed on the following concepts:

Health ministries are based on achieving wholeness, acknowledging the close connection between mind, body, and spirit.
Healthcare requires more than medical treatment of disease or illness.
Health ministries advocate for health promotion and disease prevention.
Parish nurses/faith community nurses are caring, spiritually mature people who reach out to comfort, console, strengthen, teach and encourage the faith community.

Parish Nurse / Health Ministry programs may include the following activities: health screening; educational programs that promote wellness by integrating the concepts and practices of faith and health; advocating for clients and connecting them with resources; listening and providing support and referral; training and coordinating volunteers; visitation in the home or healthcare setting.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR PARTICIPANTS

Commitment to a wholistic concept of health care, including the spriritual dimension of healing and health
Good communication skills
Ability to work with others from the congregation and larger community
A demonstrated relationship with a faith community (participants are encouraged to have their faith community sponsor them and provide some financial assistance to help cover costs)
Time and desire to implement a parish nurse / health ministry program within their faith community
Active, valid license to practice as a Registered Nurse.

Download the brochure and registration form (PDF)

Toward Improving Health and Educational Outcomes of Youth in Wyoming: A Day of Sharing

Monday, July 14, 2008
8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Little America
Cheyenne, WY

Please join us for a day of sharing knowledge and ideas to improve health and educational outcomes of Wyoming youth. Participants will:

• Examine key findings of the 2007 Wyoming Youth Risk Behavior Survey, discuss youth culture, and learn about national data on adolescent sexual risk behavior prevention, facilitated by Wyoming Department of Education and Wyoming Health Council trainers Sandy Birkholz, Tara Chandler, Nate Cina, and Gay Hughes.

• Have the privilege and honor of listening to and interacting with a panel of young adults from Wyoming Advocates for Youth who have survived challenging teen years as they share their experiences and views about effective prevention efforts.

• Learn about “Life: RU Ready?” Nancy Bozic and Carol Yonkee, key leaders in the creation and implementation of “Life: RU Ready?” in Campbell County, will share an overview and history of the program, evaluation data from the Wyoming Statistical Analysis Center, and step-by-step guidance for participants to learn how to develop this program in their own communities. “Life: RU Ready?” uses fun as the platform for a serious message. It is an educational event that allows teens and parents to practice applying decision-making skills to simulated real-life situations that teens are likely to experience. With graduation as their goal, participants navigate a maze in which they make personal decisions and experience consequences.

• Have the opportunity to integrate all of the day’s information with members of their own communities by engaging in a community discussion and action planning session.

Registration Closed .

Download the Summer Institute Flyer.