September 7, 2006

PHD Health Education Specialist Appointed to Governor’s Council

Panhandle Health District Health Education Specialist Brittany Baeumel has been re-appointed to the Governor’s Council on Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention for a two-year term.

Baeumel manages the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention program, which includes Peers Encouraging Abstinent Kids (P.E.A.K.). P.E.A.K. matches high school mentors with middle school students to model and teach abstinence as a choice. The program, which started in Bonners Ferry, is celebrating its 10th anniversary in the Panhandle Health District this year. Each year it reaches in the five northern counties alone about 1,800 students in 10 high schools and 13 middle schools.

The Governor’s Council consists of two people from each of the state’s seven health districts. Increasing the number of adolescents who choose abstinence and decreasing the teen pregnancy rate are among the council’s goals. The national birth rate for girls ages 15 to 19 is 49.6 per 1,000 births. Idaho’s rate is 58.4, which represents a downward trend for the state.

The council reaches teens through television commercials, media campaigns and educational programs.

“It’s amazing to me the number of individuals from organizations and the different backgrounds that come together for this purpose,” Baeumel says.

She will serve on the council until June 2008.

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