What We Do

The Campaign to Make Delaware’s Kids the Healthiest in the Nation

NHPS and its collaborators envision a healthier state where children and their families are motivated and able to make healthy choices. To spur both motivation and change, Nemours has launched a campaign designed to shed light on the barriers to making healthy choices as well as the way to start working on solutions.

To achieve the greatest impact, NHPS considers the many different places where children and families spend their time: schools, child-care facilities, health care settings, community centers, and neighborhoods. The goal is to help children make better food and lifestyle choices and to stay physically active by reinforcing consistent, healthy messages in each setting.

To reach these goals, we are proud to have the support of like-minded members of the community. We call these members our Partners in Prevention, and they are everywhere we are.

Partners in Prevention

In the school setting, NHPS works with teams of administrators, teachers, counselors, school nurses, parents, and even the students themselves to encourage healthier eating and more physical activity through better training and education, as well as through policy and environmental changes.

In the child-care setting, NHPS provides training and educational tools to help child-care providers promote and model healthy behaviors for young children. In addition, NHPS advocates for the adoption of 5-2-1-Almost None principles as part of state quality rating and improvement systems for child-care providers.

In the primary care setting, Nemours convenes pediatric primary care providers from across the state to participate in study groups focused on improving office-based weight management and health promotion skills. Practitioners learn about new interventions and receive tools for use in the office setting, as well as take-home materials for families.

In the community, NHPS works with youth-serving organizations, such as the YMCA of Delaware, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and the 4-H Club, to promote 5-2-1-Almost None and to develop a corps of messengers who will model the behavior and help spread the word.

In Sussex County, Delaware, a coalition made up of more than 100 businesses, government, nonprofit, educational, and faith-based organizations has been established to promote child health in all settings. A concentrated effort involving grassroots leadership is also underway in the city of Wilmington.