St. Charles Parish, school system partner to host student health, wellness and vaping awareness event

Health, wellness, and smoking and vaping prevention will be the topics tonight when St. Charles Parish Hospital and St. Charles Parish Public Schools team up to host Team Up for Student Health.

The event, designed for 6th through 12th grade students and their parents/guardians, will take place at the Dr. Rodney R. Lafon Performing Arts Center, located at 275 Judge Edward Dufresne Parkway in Luling. The lobby will open at 5 p.m. with STEM activities, interactive demonstrations, and educational health-focused exhibits from Ochsner Performance Training, Ochsner Eat Fit, Ochsner Education Outreach and more.

Following the exhibition portion of the evening, a panel of speakers will take the stage at 6 p.m. Presentations will focus on wellness with a direct emphasis on smoking and vaping prevention and the correlation between successful educational engagement and positive health.

“As vaping has become more popular among today’s youth, we want to share the facts about smoking with our community to encourage health and wellness,” St. Charles Parish Hospital Chief Executive Officer Keith Dacus said. “When students feel good and have positive, healthy habits, they are more likely to succeed academically and experience great success. Our goal is to empower our community with the knowledge and tools to form healthy habits for a bright future.”

Organizers said an adult should accompany any participating students in middle school. Attendees will have the opportunity to win prizes, including tickets to New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans games.

“As a school system, we provide high-quality educational experiences to prepare students with the knowledge, skills, and values required to become productive global citizens,” St. Charles Parish Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Ken Oertling said. “Topics surrounding health and wellness in general are at the forefront of our society right now, and we want to help provide our students and community with the knowledge and tools needed to ensure their health and wellbeing for the future.”