Mr. Douglas Mormann
Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor’s “Rebuilding for Learning: Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching, and Re-engaging Students” helps us all remember that a student has a much better chance to learn to become a happy competent adult by being healthy and coming from a healthy family and community. We, the people that live and work in La Crosse County, rank in the top quartile of the healthiest counties in Wisconsin as determined by the University of Wisconsin – School of Medicine and Public Health in their ranking of the health status of States and Counties http://www.countyhealthrankings.org/ . We are at this level because we work together to make the decisions and take the actions needed to keep ourselves and our children healthy and able to learn.
The School District of La Crosse and other school districts in the La Crosse County Health Dept. have established a number of ways to work together reach the goal of healthy children able to learn. The attached table describes several of our Points of Communication and Coordination. These efforts are successful. We are pretty healthy. Could we be doing better? Sure. All we need to do is look across the Mississippi River. Our health status is good in La Crosse County and in Wisconsin but Minnesota is much better. If you have interest and time to help our children become like the Minnesotans, take a look at the table and find a place to help us move forward. Or look at the table and help us figure out what we are not doing that we should be.
We are really doing well now. Many more of us are living longer and with a better quality of life than our ancestors but we can help our children do even better. Thanks for doing what you do now and thinking about doing more.
Submitted by Doug Mormann, Dir. La Crosse County Health Dept.