Health and Prevention

The purpose of these grants is twofold:

1. To promote comprehensive school health education through recruitment, training, consultation and collaboration with schools, teachers, and community groups.
2. To provide outreach services to Medicaid-eligible children, adolescents and families. The program aims to increase the enrollment of children and adolescents who are eligible for Medicaid coverage and improve the utilization of Medicaid covered preventive services among this population.

The goal of this program is to improve the overall health status of adolescents and children in Michigan, resulting in healthy students who are ready and able to learn and become healthy, educated and productive adults.

Objective 1: Recruit non-implementing schools for Michigan Model for Health® trainings and implementation.

Objective 2: Increase by 10% the number of teachers trained in the Michigan Model for Health® curriculum, including existing and/or newly recruited teachers.

Objective 3: Provide consultation and technical assistance related to the Michigan Model for Health® to teachers, public and private schools, and public school academies.

Objective 4: Increase the knowledge among school staff and parents/caregivers regarding the Medicaid program, including eligibility requirements, program services and accessing services.

Objective 5: Perform other program-related activities, including:

• Provide other trainings that supplement, enhance, or support the Michigan Model for Health®.
• Implement one or two Coordinated School Health activities that support or enhance the Michigan Model for Health®.
• Provide HIV and SexEd certification trainings.
• Attend all Michigan Model for Health® Training of Trainer (TOT) events and state updates held through regularly scheduled Michigan Coordinated School Health Association (MiCSHA) meetings.

Coordinated School Health (CSH) centers around eight critical, interrelated components: health education, physical education, health services, mental health and social services, nutrition services, healthy and safe environment, family and community involvement, and staff wellness. All of these individual components work together to support the adoption of health-enhancing behaviors, students’ health and learning are improved (CDC).

The MARESA Health Education Online Website has information on all MARESA programming.

Comprehensive School Health Education (CSHE) is one of the eight components of Coordinated School Health. It is a planned, sequential, K-12 curriculum that addresses the physical, mental, emotional and social dimensions of health. For purposes of this grant, CSHE refers to the Michigan Model.

NorthCare Grant for Substance Abuse Prevention utilizes two prevention programs:

Life of an Athlete

Life of an Athletei s a proven, effective and financially responsible approach to preventing underage drinking and drug use among middle school and high school athletes. Rooted in an enforced uniform Code of Conduct, student leadership and consistent community expectations, the Life of an Athlete program supports student decisions to live and play alcohol and drug free. It works because it based on simple provable truth – getting drunk erases 14 days of physical training.

Life of an Athlete promotes character development and accountability among young athletes. Life of an Athlete is system that communities and schools adopt, implement and sustain themselves beginning with athletes but applicable to all co-curricular activities.

PRIME for Life

PRIME For Life is an alcohol and drug program for people of all ages. It is designed to gently but powerfully challenge common beliefs and attitudes that directly contribute to high-risk alcohol and drug use. The program goals are to reduce the risk for health problems and impairment problems by: increasing abstinence, delaying initial use and decreasing high-risk use.

 A primary goal of PRIME For Life is prevention of any type of alcohol or drug problem. This includes prevention of health problems such as alcoholism, or impairment problems such as car crashes or fights. Emphasis is on knowing and understanding risks one cannot change and reducing risks one can change.

For more information concerning the NorthCare Grant for Substance Abuse Prevention, please contact Kelly Sager at 906-226-5143.

Physical Education & Nutrition in the Upper Peninsula (PE-Nut UP) is a nutrition and physical education program that uses a whole-school approach to motivate students, parents and educators to be physically active and eat healthier. 

Please, visit the MARESA Health Education website to learn more.