Thursday and Friday, hundreds of Missoula area school children are participating in the CATCH Health Fair at St. Patrick Hospital, a half-day of fun and education about various health issues.

CATCH Coordinator Lisa Tims said the name is an acronym for Coordinated Approach To Child Health.

"We have kids coming from all different area schools, from Frenchtown, Lewis and Clark, Florence Carlton, St. Joseph, Paxson, Hellgate Elementary, Target Range, Valley Christian, DeSmet, and Hawthorne," Tims said. "In fact, we have over 800 area kids visiting us in two days. They're here to learn how to be healthy in a fun way."

The children are visiting six different action stations.

"They're learning about how to say 'no' to tobacco, how to safely put on a helmet, about germs and the importance of washing your hands, and they're being exposed to some new and healthy foods, like kale chips and flavored hummus," she said. "We want the program to be fun and so we have fun music and we thank them for coming with a goodie-bag to take home so they can remember what they learned here today."

CATCH is a school-based program to increase healthy eating and physical activity in elementary students. All District 1 elementary and middle schools have adopted the program.

 

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