October 31, 2015: First Aid
Halloween treated us to another sunny autumn day for our first aid walk!
We focused on how to know if your child can be treated at home instead of seeking medical attention. And we emphasized calling the doctor’s office or going to an urgent care clinic instead of going to the emergency room. Most things can be taken care of at home, which avoids the hassle, time and discomfort of going to the hospital.
If you ever are worried about your child’s health:
1. Call the doctor/clinic to speak with someone who can discuss your concern (24 hours/day)
or
2. Go to the doctor’s office or to the clinic (during business hours)
If you have a true emergency (the child is seriously hurt or sick):
1. Call 911
or
2. Go to the nearest emergency rooom
Fevers (usual defined as 100.4 F or 38 C) can be scary, but the fever itself is usually just a sign that the child’s body is appropriately fighting an infection. The fever is not dangerous. Comforting the child with rest and plenty of liquids, plus acetaminophen and/or ibuprofen to bring down the fever is usually enough. One exception: it is always important to get medical attention for a fever in an infant under three months old. Young babies may not be able to fight an infection on their own, so take the baby’s temperature with a thermometer, and if it’s a fever, call the doctor or go to the clinic right away.
We were pleased to meet Maria Reyes, representing the Pre-K program at Community Life Center. Call (212) 427-6800 or visit 221 E 122nd Street for more info.
Our first stop of the day was at Settlement Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) that offers a wide range of services for adults and children. Settlement is a great place to go for regular care, and also for urgent care. An emergency room is best for true emergencies where a person needs medical help immediately to prevent serious harm or death. An urgent care center is much better for problems that are less severe: fevers, ear infections, vomiting and diarrhea, etc. It’s best to call Settlement for an appointment, but you can walk in as well.
Special thanks to Mary Medina, Director of Operations at Settlement for showing us around—and for the treats! (See photo album.)
Our next stop was at the East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) clinic at Mt. Sinai. EHHOP is run by medical students and they provide services to adults without health insurance. We were pleased to chat with Joe-Ann Moser, one of the students, who told us all about the care they provide.
We closed the day with another fabulous visit to Chenchita’s Community Garden. The garden was festooned in fall fashion with hay bales and pumpkins everywhere. We set up a table with Halloween snacks: ghost bananas and clementine pumpkins, plus apple cider and apples. Each child was able to “harvest” a pumpkin they found in the garden and paint it. As always, there were plenty of books to read and even take home from the library, plus farm-fresh produce to buy. To add to the fun, we enjoyed a puppet show performed by Amy Trompetter of the Redwing Blackbird Theater, with accompanying vocal performance by Not4Prophet.
Another great walk!
Stats
Date: October 31, 2015
Adults: 50
Children: 45
Total: 95
Miles: 1.48
Calories: 280*
Time: about 2 hours
Co-leaders: Cappy Collins, Sarah Downs, Maria Reyes, Perry Sheffield
Special Guests: Justin Downs, Katy Downs, Adairro Fuller, Uvesh Mansuri, Kate Murphy, Bhrita Parikh, Russ Reader, Christina Su
Click here for the Panoramas of this walk!
*http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm
“Walking, under 2.0 mph, very slow,” 155lbs = 140 kcal/hr