Injury & Violence Prevention INdepth
Injury & Violence Prevention INdepth
Planting Seeds of Change - Equitably Approaching IVP
In this episode, host Mighty Fine talks with Chezik Tsunoda, founder of No More Under, an organization based in Seattle, Washington along with Jeanette Jacobs, a nurse educator and teacher at CAST Med High School in San Antonio Texas. They will share about their projects that have received seed grant funding through Safe States. Both projects focus on equity and provide opportunities in their communities to expand injury and violence prevention efforts.
Welcome to the Injury and Violence Prevention INdepth podcast. My name is Mighty Fine, and I'm the host of this Safe States Alliance production. In this space, we'll engage in dialogue with IVP professionals on a variety of issues to help inform our listeners on the latest trends and hot topics in injury and violence prevention. This episode is sponsored by the Education Development Center, or EDC, which is a global non-profit that advances lasting solutions to improve education, promote health and expand economic opportunity. Since 1958, they have been a leader in designing, implementing and evaluating powerful and innovative programs in more than 80 countries around the world. Learn more about EDC and the wonderful work they're doing by checking out their website at www.edc.org. On today's episode, I'm so excited to be sharing and highlighting the work that Safe States Alliance has been doing in providing seed grants for equity projects. We will be featuring two recipients today so they can share more about the work that they're doing and the lives that they're changing. As always, I'm so excited to be here with you all. And we'll kick it off with some introductions. Hi
Chezik Tsunoda:Hi there. My name is Chezik Tsunoda. And I am the founder of no more under, and we're located in Seattle and focus on equity in aquatics.
Jeanette Jacobs:And my name is Jeanette Jacobs, I am a health educator, health science teacher for San Antonio ISD in San Antonio, Texas, and I teach at a dual language, STEM medical-focused high school.
Mighty Fine:Great, thanks. to you both, as I mentioned to the listeners, so excited to be here with you all today to talk about the great work that you're doing at your respective organizations. Recognizing that Safe States has this seed grant program, I would love to hear from both of you to talk about the great work that you're doing, what's the overall scope of your project and the purpose of your initiatives. So just just give us a overview of it?
Jeanette Jacobs:Well, this seed grant project is kind of innovative, in that we are using the money to get about 20 to 25 high school seniors certified in medical translation, certification, the rationale behind it being that Safe States is injury and violence prevention focused is that we will use these translation skills. So the students can go out in an emancipatory pedagogy style, and take stories storytelling from their community from their elders, and kind of summarize and give us a snapshot of the marginalization, the history, the the life experiences that is going on in our community. Where we live is it's in San Antonio, but it is on the south side. And we have a point nine svi in our area in our zip code. Our students here 99% of them are first generation 99% of them are Hispanic. And so I just feel that this translation is innovative and that we can use it that way. Another venue that I have for this as well as most of our students are going into healthcare. And so this gives them almost an industry based certification that while they're in college, they can work part time. And when they become practitioners, I'm hoping most of them become practitioners, whether it's physical therapy nursing physician, and that they can use these services with their clients as well. Also introducing the concept of increasing diversity in health care, and providing health equity through presenting and and tackling our social determinants of health here in
Unknown:That sounds so good, Jeanette, it's so lovely just to the south side. hear what you're working on. So we are you know, very similarly working in an education space. So I love that we're on this together here. What our project is focused on is influencing eventually education policy. So in order to do that, we really need to collect all of the data, see what's going on out there. So So our project is really focused on getting doing a landscape analysis of the schools in Washington State. And just to get a sense of who's even talking about water safety and drowning prevention. I sincerely believe that if we can have that conversation with all of our children from K honestly I tap into preschools if I I could, but at least K through 12, reminding them of the joys and also dangers of water every summer before they head out for swim season, I truly believe that it would make a difference in our statistics around drowning. So we're basically sending out a survey to all of our schools and asking various questions, so that we can really get a sense of what is happening in the space. And thereafter, our goal is to be able to go in and do some pilot work and actually introduce some curriculum within those schools. And what this landscape analysis will help to show us is, what schools are most in need, what schools have had, you know, drownings in their particular area or have have a high range of folks that are most in need.
Mighty Fine:Great. Thanks to you both. Wonderful to hear about the projects that you're working on. And and as you mentioned, chaise it is both your both are sort of under that educational space. The work that you're doing in Washington certainly resonates with me, as I mentioned on this podcast before, I'm a former lifeguard So recognize the importance of water safety, and Janette the work that you all are doing, I'm very involved in our workforce initiative and really initiatives at APHA and really thinking about how do we diversify and prepare the workforce pipeline? So both very significant projects, and you started to allude to this already, to net. But if there's anything that either view or want to add to the conversation about why did you select this focus area for your project? What's the significance and what's the importance, as I mentioned, you both have already alluded to it. But if there's anything else you want to share, to sort of drive home that point in the importance of this work that you're doing.
Jeanette Jacobs:So I think the reason that it's so important to me, and that I see the need for it is that years ago, I was a forensic nurse examiner, sexual assault nurse examiner in Harris County, Houston. And I don't speak a lick of Spanish. And all my students sitting here listening to me right now will say, yeah, she doesn't, right. And I'm still struggling. And I'm, I know there's a neuro diversity with that. And I'm clinging to that. But when I was administering to my clients in Houston, a lot of them were coming in from South America, and we're trafficking back then. And so a lot of my clients only spoke Spanish. And so for me, when I would call the translation department and say, I need a translator to come down, and I would get the right translator, it made our point of care and our transaction, Pivotal, right? When I got when I got that translator that like got it, they just get it right, and they bonded with that client, and then that client would bond with me. And I would get a better history from that client was better to I was ever better able to serve them. And so when I got to this high school, and I was like, Man, I'm surrounded with these kids, that they all speak at least two languages, if not three, they have a&p, biochem. Med term, they're in a medical high school ready to go to college. They're perfect for this, right, the perfect. And so that's what got me thinking about it. And we were using a translation service and my sexual assault nursing side hustle that I do as well. And so I got a hold of them because I knew they were credible. And I said, Hey, you know, what does it cost? And when he told me, I said, Oh, that ain't gonna work. We don't have that money. And so when this opportunity came in through Safe States to write for the grant, I thought, all right for it, I've never done it before. But what's the worst that can happen? I get turned down. So I wrote for it. And the cast network was gracious enough to help me do all the administrative part with it. And so that's really what helped me get the idea for this project. And I'm so appreciative to Safe States for for this opportunity for my students.
Mighty Fine:Thank you for sharing that. I think it speaks to the significance of tapping in or leaning in, right. You felt there was this need here was an opportunity for me to address this need have really done grant writing before? But hey, what's what's the worst that can happen? Right, I don't get funded. So I think that's a significant point that I often tell folks, you know, do it. Now even if you No, no at all. There's someone there that can help you along the way and having the opportunities, it's what shapes the future of the young folks that what you're talking about. So kudos to you for for tapping into that shading.
Unknown:So yeah, this is actually for us. This is the second Safe States grant we received and so we were incredibly excited and continued to be grateful for the support and getting the work done. You know, for us, we recognize that there's so many barriers to learning how to swim and just even knowing the importance, again of water safety, we can look at whether that It's informational and the information just doesn't get down. It's financial. It's also cultural, right? You only have a theory only 13% likely to know how to swim and learn how to swim if your parent does not know how. And we know because of segregation in the past, and my grandmother not being allowed in the pool that many black and brown folks don't get in the water. And so we really understand that education and being in the school system is the best way to reach everyone. I personally believe that swimming is a life saving skill that everyone should have access to end, while we are not at the point and of being able to offer swim lessons in schools, because you want that to happen again, everywhere. What we do have the ability to do is offer curriculum everywhere. And so again, in order to influence education policy, in order to show there's a need, you really have to collect the data. And I'm really understanding that on a whole new level, especially around drowning prevention, either, it was so amazing, we did the hill day with you all and having the CDC come out and speak to us, what was so interesting to me is the data collection, the robust data collection on all the other injuries, many other injuries have a detail of why it's happening when it's happening. And we've not, we're not quite there yet with drowning prevention. And so again, this feels like a really great way to lay the foundation, at the very least, to start collecting data to get kids aware. And to me, that's what we're, you know, we're changing the statistics, hopefully, for generations to come with that awareness. And also, you know, you talk about the pipeline, I'm hopeful that when we're talking to kids in 11th, and 12th grade, not only are we talking about CPR, but we're talking about a career as a lifeguard or you know, aquatics manager. So yeah, that's really why we wanted to tap into this lay the foundation, raise awareness, where we can reach the most folks and again, those that are at high risk.
Mighty Fine:I can appreciate that, as I mentioned, was a lifeguard and learned how to swim in school, but also had a pool when I was in high school at home. So learning sort of recreationally as well. And to your point, it is a life saving skill, because I remember when a cousin of mine was drowning, but because I was trained, and I was educated on water safety, I was able to sort of like, you know, go into action and save for I did targeted, stay out the pool for a while. But that's beside the besides the point. But honestly, in all seriousness, I think had I not been showcased the importance of water safety, and actually learning how to swim and understanding all the fundamentals there. I don't know if I would have been as ready to go in and save her in that moment. So again, that certainly resonates with me, for sure. And you all again, you sort of teed this up already, and I've sort of formulated my own thoughts or ideas. And it would be great to hear from you all though, but what impact are you hoping to achieve with the work that you're doing?
Unknown:Well, for me, mine's two-fold right, is to get the students with an employable skill, a work based certification, and I am a pedagogy nerd. So I'm hoping for some amounts of tutorial slash narrative pedagogy with this to use as a model going forward. Um, so we can see how when students go out in their community, with their peers, and their elders gathered, the stories that only they can gather, I can't gather them and bring that back. We have stories that tell stories of marginalization and intersectionality, and racism, and poverty, and low health literacy. So all of these primary social determinants of health that are that these kids are swimming in, in their communities, right, and that their elders have been swimming in and bringing that back, where I'm caution on using some terminology, but where that those stories can be brought back to empower generations going forward. That's my main goal with this. And of course, for them, they don't see that right at their age, but I see it at my age, in my, in my expertise in everything that I've, I've gone through in nursing, how that's impactful. And I think that they'll see that too as they get older. But for now, it's like, yeah, I get a certification where I might get paid 35 bucks an hour. I'm like, yeah, go get it. Right. So I think that it's two-fold. And I would hope that that a high school like ours sees the importance of that, especially since they have so much academic prep that they're just shoo ins for it. Right. And I know money's always an issue. I know that but if there's money to be had, this is such a great certification for them and then to use that data going forward. to influence policy would be great. That'll take years,
Mighty Fine:I was just gonna say I do think the certification is important, right, because it's a way to sort of punctuate your experience. And, and I know just things that I've done and I've been certified. And I'm able to utilize that and leverage other opportunities. The other piece around the narratives and the stories, again, super significant. I just sort of personally, I know, when I've either read someone's book, or heard them speak on, you get to understand them differently. And you understand where you connect, and at least in my experience, that has allowed me to have a better appreciation and understanding of someone else's experience, recognizing where our experiences are distinct, but also sort of the shared experiences that we have. And again, I think it brings a different level of awareness when we can personally connect to folks through stories and narratives. So I just wanted to say that Chezik,
Unknown:Yeah, I think for us, ultimately, I think, you know, one of the biggest things for me is really making drowning, like the word drowning the words water safety, a part of our every day, just a part of our everyday conversation. I think, you know, in particular, what I've noticed in the work that I've been doing is when you say the word drowning, people look away, and I want it to be something that we can talk about, without shame, talk about, oh, my gosh, I just had a, an incident, like, over the weekend, that's so scary I, I just want to release some of the shame and fear around water and what can happen and really make it a part of our every day. And I truly believe that having curriculum in schools will be incredibly helpful for that. And I always use, everybody knows, stop, drop and roll, we all know what to do. If we're on fire, we don't know what to do if we see someone drowning, and that's reached throw, don't go. And so once we start getting those conversations going, and again, I even make the parallel to seatbelts. Like every time you get into a car, you buckle your seatbelt. But when you go to the ocean or a lake, you don't bring your life jacket. And so because these conversations aren't necessarily happening at home for many different reasons, it feels imperative to me that they happen at the school level. And so ultimately, that's what we're hoping for, we're hoping to raise awareness with our kids, they take that home to their parents, we start getting kids in regular swim lessons, because we start to understand the importance of that. And then ultimately, I'm hoping that we can show what we've done in Washington State and share that with other states, right, that we can take some of the data that we're pulling, and show this is, it would be amazing. If we were able to see the statistics of drownings from one summer to the next after we've introduced curriculum, that again, we talk about money, and all of these studies and and researching it takes money. But that is what is going to really make the impact and help others understand the importance of of what this is. So yeah, our ultimate goal is to influence education policy. And we're really, really fortunate, we have a partnership with one of our state representatives, April Berg, and she helped us pass a law last year, that is kind of baby stepping. It's all in the you know, there's there's a master plan here. And this is a piece of it. And so again, that's why we're so grateful that we can get in get the research so that when we do take this to the state that we can share why it's important to implement and change our education policy around water safety and drowning prevention.
Mighty Fine:I think that's a great point to make parallels to motor vehicle safety and fire safety, because they are there are things that we certainly do talk about. And I will say even in injury spaces, I've often heard folks working in drowning prevention, saying that they're hoping for more notoriety in that space because it's it's an issue a problem. And sometimes they feel it doesn't get the dedicated attention that it needs.
Unknown:Yeah, I was just gonna say I recently heard someone say that drowning prevention is the step-child of injury prevention. And I understand like, you know, again, when I heard some of the numbers of suicide, like I understand that we are lower on the totem pole, but to me and every life matters, and I'm in this space because my son drown. And so I understand how it not only impacts one family, it impacts a community. And luckily and gratefully my community has a higher awareness. But we don't need to wait until another child drowns. And we're not waiting for doctors on this one, what we're waiting for is a change in our behavior in which we can actually tap into and change. If we were able to have this be a part of our education system. At least that's what I believe so, and I'm feeling pretty strongly about it. And that's why this feels so important in kind of the constant baby steps to get us there. And yes, it is going to take you know, we're two years away. But hey, that's two years closer than we were two years ago, right? Absolutely.
Mighty Fine:I hear you loud and clear. And I do. And I think maybe the Jeanette who brought it up, where we start to talk about the intersectionality. And I think as we do that more fully, we can recognize that there are areas of significance, when you look at the numbers, it might not be as significant for the folks listening in, I'm using air quotes, because as you mentioned, a life is a life. And we should be doing all that we can to prevent those incidents from happening, because we know that they are preventable. We have, you know, years of data, and practice and experience that show us that it's preventable. So we need to activate. So I hear you loud and clear. Recognizing I don't know everything about your work is exciting for both of you. I know I'm excited just listening in and learning about it for the first time. But it would be great if you can tease out one thing that you're really proud of that has happened thus far, and or something that you're really excited about. I think it'd be great for folks to hear that as well.
Unknown:Other first instance, what we've been doing Chezik, right. Alright. So I think the work that I've done the most, that makes me the happiest about what I do is increasing diversity in healthcare workforce. And so another program that I'm running here that that I got to do for free, is making relationships with our clinical facilities in the area for all of my students to go rotate through and spend two hours at a time in PT, your OT, your X ray, or er, nursing, right. And so with that, I've had so many students say, Oh, I do want to be a nurse, or I do want to be an x ray tech, or that's so cool what physical therapists do, right. And so there's a lot of and of course, as a nurse, I want everybody to go in nursing, right. But I understand that's not possible. But if I can just get you into healthcare, one of the things I tell my students, and this is the blessing of being at this school, that it's so small, I really get to know them, as I say, you know, show me your skills and your talents, and I will find you a place in healthcare, I'll find it for you. Because healthcare is an industry. So every one of these students can get a job in healthcare, in a good job, right. But it's so satisfying to me as a teacher, as a mom, and now a grandma, that my students come back and go, Oh, I was so excited to see that or see this guy put on a cast, or I got to meet a surgeon who is African American. So when the students see people that look like them, then they can envision themselves, right. And so for me, like, I just come back going, I can't believe I'm getting paid for this job. So that's, for me the most rewarding thing about about what I do, and brings me so much joy. Yeah,
Mighty Fine:Yeah, I mean, as you folks can't see me, but as you were talking, I was smiling. And she was as well, because I think we all recognize the importance of visibility, right? If I see it, it's like, Oh, you did it. You're different than what people are saying, who is, you know, who, who are the only people that can do this. But you look different than that. So that means I look different than so that means it's a possibility for me as well. And in the work that we do in public health, we're always talking about the absence of the absence of the absence of which totally, we want to prevent deaths. We want to do all those wonderful things. But I often always say it's about the presence of opportunity, right? So giving these kids an opportunity to see what is possible for them. So yes, that really resonates with me. And I share in your excitement as as well. What about you shaysing.
Unknown:So I think what I'm most excited about or proud that we've done, we were offering swim lessons and really tapping into the black, brown and under-resourced communities as they are at the highest risk for drowning. And we partnered with our YMCAs and city pools and also organizations that work with those groups, to bring them in and offer them the opportunity to learn how to swim and just get that access and three years into what we were doing. The mayor came in and has an initiative now called swim Seattle, in which there is more money and it's now a public and political issue here in Seattle, that we're working on getting all kids under the age 13 swim lessons for free. And so it just goes to show I think, you know, when you're out there doing the work eventually, right? You get the lien in. And so that's something I would love to again, influence other cities and granite, I'm just talking about Seattle, we have so many cities in the in the state of Washington that I would love to see. But then I also want swim San Antonio and swim swim Indianapolis like, I'm really hoping that we can show the impact. And so I'm actually helping them do research. So we can see how that influences our city and hope to again influence other cities to lean in. And then what I'm most excited about coming down the pipeline is our national programs. So what we've noticed even in our current swim programs is our struggle is finding pool space and instructors, right also lifeguards a mighty if you want to jump back into that world, we are in need. But what we did is, you know our program director, Tosh, is a former collegiate swimmer, and remembers volunteering and needing to volunteer to build a house or needing to volunteer, you know, something that's not related to aquatics. So we are training collegiate swimmers, to teach kids in their community how to swim. And so we actually did a pilot last year, which was really, really successful. It's one collegiate swimmer, two swimmers that they're teaching. And ultimately, it's a five day program in which we're not necessarily worried about teaching them how to swim. Ultimately, we really want to, we really want to teach them self rescue. So if you fall into the pool, what happens, and we're hoping that this is a gateway into loving the pool and loving aquatics, and then we're offering them some free swim lessons thereafter. So ultimately, we want to do is give families access and show them the joy of water, make sure that we're teaching them a bit of flotation and the ability to save themselves, and thereafter, hopefully getting them into swim, which again, leads eventually into hopefully, the pipeline being with a collegiate student who is into swimming, that's something you want to see. Right. So we're still working on the visibility there in some cases, but again, baby steps, right. So those are the things that I'm most excited about. And I could keep going because this is, you know, a passion. And I, I see the difference, right? And I imagined Jeanette you as well, seeing your kids faces, it really does make a difference. And it just motivates you to keep going, yeah, totally.
Mighty Fine:As I mentioned, I've worked with both of you, I feel the passion, I feel the excitement. And particularly in your work, both actually when you think about the historical underpinnings of why this is an equity issue. And that you all recognize the systems that are at play. And you're you're working to remedy that. So again, kudos to you both for the great work that you're doing. And it's resonating with me and getting me jazzed and excited. I'm like, Oh, I used to do this Johnny program at work. Now, let me I think I need to revisit it. We're still doing some pipeline work as well. So anyway, you all have some thoughts percolating in my brain, I'm sure folks listening in as well. She's like, you started to talk about sort of collection of data or evaluating in a sense. So I would love to hear from both of you, or what are your plans for evaluating the impact? If you're doing that already, or just how you sort of tracking progress, I think it'd be great for folks to hear that before
Unknown:I tap into that, I just want to say Mighty, feel free to give me a call after this and share your drowning prevention, like anything, I always love to hear from folks that have done the work and been in this space. You know, we're five years in, but there's things to pull from the past. And you know, that can help us innovate. So I love that you used to tap into this. So what I realized I went to Australia this past December for the world Drowning Prevention Conference. And I was blown away with all of the research and data, right that people are starting to lean into. I can tell you what we've tracked, but I recognize that until you get a researcher on board, and you get folks, you know, the IRB and all these new terms for me, that is really where the weight is. And that's really where you get the attention that you need. And so as we move forward with our programs, that is the goal, right? I can tell you, like I said that 85% of our kids are on free lunch, but me saying that versus having it being tracked. So we've been working with a research company who is basically doing you know, it's a long haul and it's expensive, but this is how you you really shipped. So we're working with someone on that we actually are going through the IRB process right now. So that we can also track our college programs swim safely series. So everything that we're doing now we're trying to incorporate the cost in of having a researcher that can eventually hopefully fingers crossed be published, because again, that's next level, you know, but just understanding the importance of that. And at the very least, I think it's important for people to track their own data. But if and when possible to have a researcher, a college, anyone, I think that's something you can tap into is folks that are in college and are, you know, in that research mode, within your specialty, and it maybe doesn't cost quite as much and or it's part of, you know, their masters, this mountain, the other. So I really am grateful, because that is what we're doing here. That is our project with Safe States is being able to hire a company to come in and capture that so that we again, then can take it to our legislators and say, Look, we have this real data that isn't captured by a professional. And hopefully this has been published. And oh, my gosh, why don't we do this around the country is what I you know, big picture, my mic drop moment, right. So federal legislation, but again, baby steps, and again, I look at Jeanette years in the making, yeah,
Mighty Fine:I was just gonna say you hit the nail on the head with that, I work in another, so another hat that I wear with CEPH. And they're the board that accredit schools of public health. And as a part of the accreditation process, the schools and programs, students are required to do an applied practice experience or a PE. And as you mentioned, a lot of them are looking for data that they can analyze and evaluate. And, again, I'm just saying, to your point, there are a lot of folks out there that are interested to get their hands on some data, and are available to help with the analysis. So you can get to that publication stage. But also the gray literature is really important to showcase that in as well.
Unknown:I would love to figure out how we tap into that. I would love if there was a way that we could figure out organizations could figure out ways to tap into those students, or organizations that have the ability and are looking for that this is, is this not come on. We've got some ideas here going I don't know who's going to pay to get it done. But understanding in the injury prevention space, how important all of this is in the data collection in the research, there could even be some sort of just board on Safe States. Hey, we're looking for fill in the blank. I don't know. But I love the idea of having access. It's about creating access all around for everyone, right? Even us accessing folks that want to tap in. I love that.
Mighty Fine:Jeanette, how about you? What are you doing to what are your thoughts around evaluation or track length?
Jeanette Jacobs:Wow. So I feel the pain on publication because I'm just about to, I'm doing my third revision on a manuscript to publish on my dissertation. And it's really traumatizing just going back into the dissertation. And it's re traumatize, it's tough to get published. And it's tough when it was qualitative and not quantitative. So everything's about data, right. And legislation. And it's it's really tough. My ultimate goal sidetracking from this is addressing health literacy in the state of Texas, and curriculum and health education curriculum, because health education is not mandatory here in the state of Texas. And we know that our biggest way shades like is getting the curriculum there for the students. And when we purposefully deny education that targets morbidity and mortality. It's a no curriculum, and that's a social justice education. And that's what my dissertation and my efforts are passionately towards social justice education, and I believe health education and education curriculum that addresses the highest m&ms, we we owe it to our students to do that, right. So I feel you on publication, and I'm passionate about going up to the state and nationally to get this effort address. But my my guess my effort with my translation program, right, is to bring the stories back and then I analyze the stories in my qualitative slash quantitative concept analysis way and I'm going to extract themes of racism, poverty, low education levels, low health literacy levels, and then get that data and move forward with it. My focal point, career wise is critical health literacy. And I think that's where we take the empowerment of the student It's here where they go out in their community. And they address the oppressive systems and which one of them is our education system as evidenced by withholding health education and no curriculum, and that I can get some data to say, Here you go. But it might be, it's tough. It's tough to make movement legislation whites, it's tough, because we all know how that goes. And so that's what I'm hoping for at the end, because I've got to have data to do it again, and to make movement, but right now, I mean, the students are just happy. They're getting a certification, right?
Mighty Fine:Yeah, absolutely. And it's an iterative process. And as I mentioned earlier, even if you are able to share some promising practices from the work, I think publication is a great sort of angle. But even before you get there, there are other ways like you're alluding to, that you can share the information and showcase the impact that you're having, and maybe inspire others to do similar work. So my final question for you both is thinking about the future, right? How do you envision sustaining this work beyond the grant period? Or what are your thoughts around how you're going to build upon it moving forward? Again, just good to hear how you plan to sustain it in some manner.
Unknown:I mentioned earlier that we have a partnership with our state representative. And she is helping us to figure out piloting the curriculum program. So the hope is that the information that we get from the landscape analysis will help us select the 50 schools that we will eventually do pilot curriculum in and then thereafter be able to do another yet another kind of survey thereafter, and then be able to go to our legislators. So you know, we're looking at a year and a half to two years until the next session, that we can take everything that we've gained, and everything that we've learned, be able to share stories, information, statistics, and then be able to go and present on why our curriculum should be installed in all Washington state schools. And what's interesting is that there's a lot of curriculum right now K through five, but we are going to have to develop curriculum beyond that. And there's nothing right now, that's out there that does talk about CPR that does talk about even what to do, and that there's no curriculum out there currently for six through 12. And I think it's really, really important that not only children leave school, understanding the importance of water safety and drowning prevention, but also understanding CPR and other life saving skills to have. And so again, we need to see what's out there, understand what we need to provide, find out where the gap is, and really go in. So yeah, we have our whole plan. So in two years, when I'm on here, I will be sharing about our legislative efforts and how we have shifted policy and then shared it with our federal folks. Nobody can see my fingers crossed. But yeah, I put it out in the universe. Chezik, I'll pray for you. All right, I'm hoping that I don't know that this program is necessarily sustainable, because the students have to be 18 to test out for it. And I'm finding right now that one of our barriers is they're seniors, and they just want to get the hell out of here. And I'm having to implement this program the first week after their graduation. And I'm already seeing a kind of a little bit of dropout, right. So when I analyze the factors, I don't know that this program is sustainable in that fashion, unless they let me implement it during the last semester of school, you know, so But chances are that are pretty slim. But you know, when I look at sustainability for the program, I don't, I'm gonna be honest, I don't I don't know that it's there. So this is just, I'm just trying to see what happens as nurses do, you know, we see a gap, we see a need, we'll try it doesn't work, we tweak it. And so I'm just going to kind of see what happens what I do I think this program should be implemented in this high school in this space. Absolutely. But can I keep funding this because I'm gonna have to find the funding for it. Nobody's gonna fund this. So it's all about money. So I don't know the sustainability but that's what I would hope for in the real world is that the students take it as an elective their second semester, and get certified for it that you know, that would be the short term goal.
Chezik Tsunoda:I love it. I just wanted to pop in and say we've also had some success as an after school program
Mighty Fine:And Jeanette thanks for sharing and thanks for your transparency as well and being I always say that in my thinking in my work, I like to be utopian, right shoot for the stars, but I tethered with reality, like what is actually achievable, but it also sounds like that's not going to stop you from still continuing to move the work forward in what you've done and were able to accomplish with that school. I see that as an opportunity for other schools. also say, Hey, that's a program that we want to implement here. So it may not be sustained in that same fashion. But there are other ways that it can be the learnings can be utilized to continue the essence of what you achieved in that school. So with that, again, thank you both. It's been a pleasure talking with you today. And I look forward to following along the work that you both are doing within your respective programs. Please know that I'm here as a Safe States member as a resource. So once we close out on this podcast, know that you have a new team member, and and I'm really here to support and I mean that sincerely, because I definitely believe in the work that you both are doing. So again, thank you so much.
Chezik Tsunoda:Thank you.
Mighty Fine:Thanks for listening to IVP INdepth. Be sure to subscribe and listen to us on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or Google podcasts. You can follow safe states on Twitter or X at Safe States and the same for LinkedIn. Don't forget to check out our website at safe states.org For more injury violence prevention tools and resources. Again, I'd like to thank our sponsors EDC, for supporting Safe States and helping us to create space for programs such as this is your host mighty fine signing off, and until next time, stay safe and injury free.