St. Anthony Hospital, Public Health and Jeffco Public Schools Team Up to Keep Youth Hydrated

The pink water bottle Emmy Adams, a junior at Golden High School, carries around isn’t just a way to stay hydrated. It’s a chance for change.

Emmy Adams, president and founder
of the Golden High School Environment
Club fills her water bottle at one of the
school's new filling stations.

“I think that by having refillable drink stations, it helps people drink more water so much more because it is so much more accessible and easier to make the right choice in what you’re drinking,” said Adams, president and founder of the school’s environmental club. The club was instrumental in highlighting the need for water filling stations at Golden High School.

Water filling stations are just one way to encourage children and teens to drink more water and less of other drinks, like sugary beverages. Healthy Jeffco and its community coalitions, specifically the School Wellness Coalition and the Jeffco Sips Smart Coalition, are working to increase healthy beverage consumption through education and collaboration. Key partners in this effort include, Centura Health’s St. Anthony Hospital, Jeffco Public Schools and Jefferson County Public Health.

It is estimated that more than half of children in the U.S. don’t drink enough water. A national study published in June 2015 in the American Journal of Public Health found that more than half of American children are dehydrated at any time.

Thanks to the generous contribution from St. Anthony Hospital, eight Jefferson County public schools now have water bottle refill stations to help keep youth and staff hydrated. In addition, posters encouraging healthy beverage consumption were distributed throughout the schools.

Golden High School currently has two filling
stations, thanks to donations from Centura Health's
St. Anthony Hospital. The school also received
donations from other community organizations,
which means it will be receiving four additional
water bottle filling stations soon.

“Centura Health believes that high quality health happens in our clinics and in the community,” said Dr. Kimberly Bentrott, a Primary Care Physician with Centura Health Physicians Group. “This project is a great example of health happening in schools, and we are proud to be a partner of this work.”

Golden High School currently has two water filling stations, and thanks to donations from other community partners and the hard work of the environment club, four more are on the way.

“People definitely use it,” said Mike Mendoza, a teacher at Golden High School and the sponsor for the environmental club. “It’s just becoming the new norm.”

Drinking water has become a game for the students at Golden High School. Many of them carry around plastic water bottles and throw them in complicated flips to land on the water filling station sensor pad.

Shamik Bhat, a senior at Golden High School,
fills his water bottle in one of the two
new water filling stations at the school.

Some of them, like Emmy, even regularly check the LED display on the filling station to see how many plastic bottles have been saved. The first week after the stations were installed, Emmy said she checked each hour.

Not only do the water filling stations fulfill the Healthy Jeffco mission to ensure better access and education about healthy beverages, but they also support the Jefferson County Public Health Environmental Health Services goal of maintaining healthy environments. Water filling stations reduce plastic waste from water bottles and other drink containers.

“This planet is such an amazing place that we live in, and there’s just so much to explore and do, and it just makes me realize that you can’t do anything if you don’t have clean air to drink and clean air to breathe,” Adams said, smiling as she explained that her passion for the environment is what makes her want to advocate for sustainable changes, like the refillable drink stations. “My generation are the ones that are really going to have to take action.”

Emmy Adams, junior at Golden High School and president and founder of the school's environment club, fills her water bottle at one of the school's new water filling stations. Both of the school's stations have saved the environment more than 2,000 plastic water bottles. 

Photos by Nikki Work // Video by Tony Aaron Fuller

Keep Children Healthy through Hydration

It is estimated that more than half of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are not getting enough hydration, most likely because they are not drinking enough water.  View Harvard School of Public Health study.

Water and sufficient hydration are essential for physiological processes such as circulation, metabolism, temperature regulation, and waste removal.  Drinking enough water is especially important in Colorado, where we live at elevation and the climate is arid, dry and hot during the summer months.  

Jeffco Sips Smart is a new coalition working to increase healthy beverage, especially water, availability and consumption in Jefferson County through education, partnerships and supportive policies. Why are healthy beverages so important? Hydration is essential to health and well-being and yet too often the drinks that are available contain a lot of added sugar.  Sugary drinks cause serious health concerns. Consuming just one sugary drink per day can add an extra 39 pounds of sugar in a person’s diet each year! This added sugar from just one sugary drink a day can lead to cavities, weight gain, diabetes and heart disease for both adults and children. 

What is a healthy beverage? The basic definition is one with no added sugar. The best options include tap water, water with fruit, sparkling water with natural flavor, unflavored milk, and unsweetened tea or coffee. 100% juice has a lot more sugar than people may think, thus, it is best if consumed in 4-6 oz. servings just a few times per week, especially for children. Sugary drinks include all beverages sweetened with various types of sugar that add calories, including carbonated sodas, sports and energy drinks, lemonade, sweetened teas and coffees and other sweetened fruit juice drinks. 

Try a Jeffco Sips Smart solution for improving hydration and carry a reusable water bottle with you and have your children do so as well.  Drinking more water will help improve overall health. 

Keep Children Healthy Through Hydration

A newly released study by the Harvard School of Public Health has revealed that more than half of all children and adolescents in the U.S. are not getting enough hydration, most likely because they are not drinking enough water. Water and sufficient hydration is essential for physiological processes such as circulation, metabolism, temperature regulation, and waste removal.

Lack of hydration and water intake can have significant repercussions on a child’s physical and cognitive and emotional functioning abilities. Even mild dehydration can cause health issues such as headaches, irritability, poorer physical performance, and reduced cognitive abilities.

Drinking enough water is extraordinarily important in Colorado, where we live at elevation and the climate is arid, dry and hot during the summer months. Make sure to bring water with you everywhere, and focus on having yourself and your family drink more water—at low-cost, no-calorie beverage—to improve overall health. Improving a child’s hydration status may allow them to feel better in general and do better in school.