Nurse to discuss mental health issues among school-age children

Posted at 1:22 am August 4, 2018
By Oak Ridge Today Staff Leave a Comment

A registered nurse who works for Anderson County Schools will discuss mental health issues among school-age children in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The talk is hosted by the Grace Lutheran Mental Health Ministry. It’s title “Mental Health: Back to School Basics,” a free community program scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, August 4, in the church’s fellowship hall.

Kim Guinn, a registered nurse and director of the Project AWARE Initiative for Anderson County Schools, will discuss the current prevalence and status of mental health issues among school-age children and the correlation between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and mental health problems, a press release said.

Guinn noted she will take a close look at the brain and the role it plays in emotional reactions, reward seeking behaviors, and the stress response, the press release said. She will share the conclusions of an influential school-based study conducted in Spokane, Washington, and point to ways that schools can provide safe, stable, and nurturing environments that promote resilience and effectively prevent and mitigate the impact of ACEs through evidence-based programs, the release said.

In addition to her background as an emergency room nurse, cardio-thoracic surgical nurse, and hospital nursing supervisor, Guinn also holds a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of St. Francis in Joliet, Illinois, the press release said.

She began her position with Anderson County Schools as a school nurse in 2005 and moved into the Coordinated School Health position in 2007. Guinn was later appointed to the role of East Tennessee regional coordinator by the Tennessee Department of Education’s Office of Coordinated School Health.

As director of the Project AWARE Initiative for Anderson County Schools, Guinn advocates for children’s mental health, the press release said. For more information on AWARE, see the Anderson County School’s website.

Grace Lutheran Church is located at 131 West Getttysburg Avenue in central Oak Ridge, behind Woodland Elementary School. The Saturday afternoon presentation is open to everyone, and childcare will be provided.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

Most news stories on Oak Ridge Today are free, brought to you by Oak Ridge Today with help from our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers. This is a free story. Thank you to our advertisers, contributors, and subscribers.

Do you appreciate this story or our work in general? If so, please consider a monthly subscription to Oak Ridge Today. See our Subscribe page here. Thank you for reading Oak Ridge Today.

If you haven't already, please consider subscribing to Oak Ridge Today. You don't have to subscribe to read most of our stories, but your subscription does provide benefits, including access to premium content. And it will help us cover local news for you day and night, as best we can. You can subscribe for as little as $5 per month. You can read more about your options here.

We currently offer five primary subscription options to readers:

Basic

Basic monthly subscription ($5 per month)—access premium content
Basic annual subscription ($60 per year)—access premium content

Pro

Pro monthly subscription ($10 per month)—access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page
Pro annual subscription ($100 per year)—save $20 per year, access premium content, get breaking news emails first, and join a private story discussion page

Temporary

Temporary access ($3 per week for two weeks)

If you prefer to send a check, you may do so by mailing one to:

Oak Ridge Today
P.O. Box 6064
Oak Ridge, TN 37831

Thank you for your consideration and for reading Oak Ridge Today. We appreciate your support.

We welcome comments, but we ask you to follow a few guidelines:

1) Please use your real name, including last name. Please also use a valid e-mail address.
2) Be civil. Don't insult others, attack their character, or get personal.
3) Stick to the issues.
4) No profanity.
5) Keep your comments to a reasonable length and to a reasonable number per article.

We reserve the right to remove any comments that violate these guidelines. Comments held for review, usually from those posting for the first time, may not post if they violate these guidelines. Thank you for your patience and understanding. Thank you also for reading Oak Ridge Today and for participating in the discussion.

More information is available here.