Alumni

Nursing Professor Appointed to National Task Force

Amy Cory, an adjunct assistant professor of nursing at Valparaiso University, has been appointed to an American School Health Association (ASHA) task force exploring the future of school health.

Cory, an expert on childhood obesity and prevention, said the task force will look at both the future of ASHA and at what issues are on the horizon for school health. ASHA is an international organization of educators, school nurses, social workers and other professionals who work to enhance the health of school-aged children through coordinated school health programs.

“We’ll be looking at the big picture of school health,” Cory said. “There’s a need to map out the health challenges schools will be facing in the future and what can be done in response to those challenges.”

Cory has been active in ASHA for several years and was selected by its president to participate in a future leaders academy.

ASHA is based on a model of school health that consists of eight areas—including health education, physical education, nutrition services, family and community involvement, health services and social services— that provide a framework for disciplines to work together to maintain the well-being of the nation’s young people. Nursing is integral to all aspects of the coordinated school health model advocated by the organization, Cory said.

The task force will work during the next several weeks to spell out school health’s contribution to children’s physical, social and intellectual health; outline how nationwide implementation of coordinated school health will improve the wellness of children and lead to a better prepared and stronger workforce; and articulate ASHA’s leadership role in advancing coordinated school health programs.

Cory is actively involved in school health as a child care health consultant in Northwest Indiana. She is also a member of the coordinated school health program advisory council for Valparaiso Community Schools. Her research interests are in early childhood obesity prevention through school health, primary health care for children and families, and community-based participatory action research.