ParkRx - BSA Call to Action
Life Scouts, Troop and
Crews, Wood Badge Candidates, Physician Scout Leaders, Scouts and Scouters,
Are you ready to help save
a life or maybe a few million lives? Did you do your Good Turn today? Do you want
an Eagle Scout Project, Service Project, or Wood Badge Ticket that can make a
big difference? Are you working on Communication, Citizenship in the Community,
Personal Fitness, or Programming Merit Badges?
Read on!
ParkRx America needs
your help.
“Over 100 million
Americans currently suffer from a chronic disease (e.g., coronary heart
disease, stroke, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, or mental health
condition). More than two-thirds of American adults suffer from
overweight/obesity, which contributes to chronic disease. Chronic disease
results in decreased quality of life, and ultimately, premature death.”
“Spending time in
natural environments increases physical activity, hence decreasing the risk of
developing chronic disease. ParkRx America is a low-cost intervention that
utilizes a known, generally trusted, and accessible resource - parks - to
influence positive health outcomes. To date, ParkRx America has mapped and
rated hundreds of parks in the National Capital region, and developed Park
Pages (one-page park summaries) searchable database, which is now available to
you to help you find the best park for you.”
For more than 100 years,
the Boy Scout program has recognized the value of outdoor activity and its
impact on health, fitness, and well-being. As a Scoutmaster for 23 years and
scouter / scout for many more I know the value of a great outdoor program and
having parks nearby to support those efforts. This is why as an
Information Systems professional working in a in a parks and recreation organization
and taking an active role in getting our data into ParkRx America I saw a
synergy in my vocation and avocation that could make a difference.
Now it’s time for you to
help someone with a chronic disease locate a park near where they live, work,
or visit that meets their specific formulary (doctor-speak for a prescribed
activity or medication). Do they
like hiking, camping, bicycling, basketball, yoga, fishing, boating,
roller-skating, dog walking or other outdoor activities? There is a nearby park for them!
So how does the Scouting
community help?
As an Eagle
Project or Troop Service Project, visit your local Park District and and
offer your services to the ParkRx coordinator or contact. If the park doesn’t
have a ParkRx representative, take the opportunity to teach them about the
value of getting involved with ParkRx America.
ParkRx requires
information about 50 attributes (many are optional) about every Park to allow a
physician to be able to prescribe a specific park and park activity using his
electronic medical records system (an electronic prescription pad). The list of
attributes is available at http://parkrxamerica.org/attributes, however a sample Excel spreadsheet for loading
the data is available upon request.
Not every Park District
has a database of attributes about their parks organized the way the ParkRx and
the physicians need this data. You can help by volunteering to populate this
spreadsheet with known data. Next, you can visit all the parks in your
local Park District and identify those attributes that are missing. Finally,
you can snap a few pictures in the park to improve the ParkRx experience and
offer them to the Park District’s ParkRx Coordinator so they may select two (2)
representative pictures for posting; or you can offer your assistance in
creating two (2) montage images for ParkRx America use.
As a Wood Badge
Candidates or Scouter you can help coordinate the activities of a
number of Troops or Eagle Projects as some Park Districts have hundreds of
parks in their local Park Districts. You can also champion having all the Park
Districts in you Scout District, Scout Council, County or State included in the
ParkRx America repository. Additionally, you can provide volunteer service to
ParkRx America in managing the incoming data for quality, constancy, and appropriateness
as ParkRx America being a new non-profit has a very small staff and a minimal
budget.
As a Physician
Scout Leader you can reach out to your health care institution, your
colleagues, and your District Roundtable and help to teach them about the value
of prescribing natural environments has on chronic disease and how
participation and expansion of ParkRx America will be beneficial to the health care community.
This effort would greatly benefit ParkRx America and assist Dr. Robert Zaar, as
a practicing Pediatrician, in his advocacy and national reach.
Lastly, as a Scout
or Scouter learn about ParkRx, participate in your local 2nd Annual
ParkRx day (April 23, 2017) and celebrate or host an event:
Finally, what’s in it
for BSA? Not only are we doing good for others, but our Troops, Packs, and
Crews can use ParkRx America to prescribe our own outdoor activities as we plan
and expand the outdoor activities our scouts crave.
Thanks,
Michael Snyder,
Scoutmaster, Troop 772, NCAC
ParkStat / EAM -
Information Technology Systems Manager
MNCPPC - Prince George's
County Department of Parks and Recreation
Live More, Play More
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