Pratt Regional Medical Center, Overland Park, KS
The Parenting Puzzle

What is it?
Parenting Puzzle workshop began with an opening session, bringing everyone together for a short power point presentation, designed by the Kansas Health Foundation, about the importance and impact of early childhood development. The group then split up into three different break-out sessions: health topics with a family practice physician, speech development, and physical activities for pre-schoolers. Each session lasted about 40 minutes and then it was time for the second break-out session, which included these topics: how to help your child make good choices, discipline and preparing your child to read. All of our presenters were professionals, who volunteered their time to help our cause. We also involved representatives from our community's two school districts to assist with the planning process.

The workshop ended with door prizes and evaluation time. With it being the first workshop, our attendance was not as we expected, with about 20 people attending. Of those who attended, all but one, said it was very educational and worth their time. They would have liked to hear all six sessions, instead of having to pick just two. Many encouraged us to continue with the project and said they would help to spread the word about what they had experienced and learned.

As a collaborative effort, we have chosen to offer at least one, but maybe two more Parenting Puzzle workshops before the end of this school year.

Pratt Regional Medical Center is proud to participate in activities such as this one. We have volunteered to continue participating and contributing time, volunteers and resources to this collaborative effort.

Who is it for?
The Parenting Puzzle is a workshop designed for parents who are raising children between the ages of 0 and 5. Others, interested in the importance of early childhood development, also showed interest by attending the workshop for professional or personal reasons.

Why do they do it?
The Parenting Puzzle workshop idea began after the Kansas Health Foundation's 2006 annual meeting. A unique group of community members were asked (by a community leader) to represent Pratt at the KHF annual meeting. In my opinion, our group was unique because we had not worked together on any certain project before, and we represented a wide variety of community stakeholders. Our collaborative group included representation from Pratt Regional Medical Center, Pratt Community College, First State Bank, The Pratt Area Chamber of Commerce, Pratt Well Service, a community volunteer, and an elected official from the Pratt city commission. The information we received at the KHF annual meeting inspired us to share what we learned about the importance of early childhood development with our community, and therefore, the Parenting Puzzle was the avenue we chose to help educate others.

Contact: Kim Stivers
PRMC Community Services Director
620-450-1444
kstivers@prmc.org