Interview
Christine Haftel: Nurse and Teacher
Mrs. Christine Haftel, a former Registered Nurse, and today an Elementary schoolteacher, has a unique perspective on obesity related health issues, and their ties to the traditional school system. Mrs. Haftel grew up in Detroit, MI, and like all children, thought she knew what she wanted to be. After High School, she received a one year full scholarship to the University of Detroit where she hoped to become a doctor. Unfortunately, her parents would have been unable to pay tuition for the remaining years and so instead she attended the School for Radiological Technology at Mr. Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit where she received a stipend and, “a chance to work in a hospital which is something I always wanted to do.” However it was not until working as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit a couple years later that she started considering the nursing field as opposed to becoming a doctor. With her new goal, Mrs. Haftel went back to school and took classes first at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and then transferred to Henry Ford Community College for her Associates Degree before finally attending the University of Detroit where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Since then, she has worked for the Veteran’s Administration in Allen Park, the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Michigan, the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland, and Henry Ford Community College as a Clinical Nurse Instructor.
Having been in the medical field for as long as she has, Mrs. Haftel has seen her fair share of obesity related health issues. “Diabetes management played a significant role in the care of patients. Wound care was a major concern for people with diabetes. These patients were always at risk for developing infections and had slower rates of healing.” Obesity, a huge risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes, was a concern back when Mrs. Haftel was working as a RN, and continues to be today she says. Obese, “patients are at risk of stroke, peripheral vascular disease, heart disease, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension.” These are only a few of the negative affects of obesity Mrs. Haftel has dealt with. I also asked her if she had any ideas about how to correct the obesity problems of American and she had some excellent ideas, the very first of which is to remove pop machines. Her other ideas included reassessing price values in grocery stores so that the healthier foods are discounted, and the low nutritional foods are more expensive. In addition, Mrs. Haftel believes smaller portions and prices in restaurants would also help set America back on track.
Ready for another change, Mrs. Haftel left the nursing field behind and decided to become a teacher. Currently employed at Cabrini Elementary School in Allen Park, she was able to give me an account of a schooling institution through the eyes of a medical practitioner. “I believe that the lunch choices for students are poor to fair,” she remarked, going on to list off some examples of unhealthy cafeteria foods like hot dogs and bosco sticks. She notes the lack of a, “healthy alternative to bagged lunches from home,” yet the convenience of buying lunch lures many parents as well as students to simply buy. However Mrs. Haftel does notice that her fellow teachers tend to bring healthier lunches from home instead of eating the schools food. One reason why is because, as adults, the teachers are much more aware their health and nutritional habits, which is why Mrs. Haftel thinks schools should provide health classes for both parents and students in the low elementary grades that focus on nutrition, obesity, and diabetes. In addition, schools should also provide, “healthier lunch choices for students and teachers,” and only sell water in vending machines.
On the subjects of sports and homework, Mrs. Haftel has some interesting, new ideas. After informing her of reports that some schools are cutting down on recess in favor of more studying time, she responded, “I believe that the opposite should occur. Activity needs to increase in school. Recess is important. It gets the blood flowing to the brain and stimulates thinking.” She even suggests that if there is no opportunity for physical activity throughout the day, “then simple exercise routines should be established in the classroom,” like, “stretching after long periods of sitting at the desk.” As for increasing homework loads, Mrs. Haftel believes it is having a negative affect on people’s health for the same reason, prolonged inactivity, which in turn hurts concentration. To make it worse, “Some people choose to snack while studying for long periods, which increases the chance of obesity and blood sugar problems.” Basically, Mrs. Haftel points out that there needs to be changes made in school systems current operations, if the obesity pandemic, which she has first hand knowledge of, has hope of being fixed.
Christine Haftel: Nurse and Teacher
Mrs. Christine Haftel, a former Registered Nurse, and today an Elementary schoolteacher, has a unique perspective on obesity related health issues, and their ties to the traditional school system. Mrs. Haftel grew up in Detroit, MI, and like all children, thought she knew what she wanted to be. After High School, she received a one year full scholarship to the University of Detroit where she hoped to become a doctor. Unfortunately, her parents would have been unable to pay tuition for the remaining years and so instead she attended the School for Radiological Technology at Mr. Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit where she received a stipend and, “a chance to work in a hospital which is something I always wanted to do.” However it was not until working as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit a couple years later that she started considering the nursing field as opposed to becoming a doctor. With her new goal, Mrs. Haftel went back to school and took classes first at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, and then transferred to Henry Ford Community College for her Associates Degree before finally attending the University of Detroit where she received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Since then, she has worked for the Veteran’s Administration in Allen Park, the Visiting Nurse Association of Southeastern Michigan, the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland, and Henry Ford Community College as a Clinical Nurse Instructor.
Having been in the medical field for as long as she has, Mrs. Haftel has seen her fair share of obesity related health issues. “Diabetes management played a significant role in the care of patients. Wound care was a major concern for people with diabetes. These patients were always at risk for developing infections and had slower rates of healing.” Obesity, a huge risk factor for Type 2 Diabetes, was a concern back when Mrs. Haftel was working as a RN, and continues to be today she says. Obese, “patients are at risk of stroke, peripheral vascular disease, heart disease, elevated cholesterol, and hypertension.” These are only a few of the negative affects of obesity Mrs. Haftel has dealt with. I also asked her if she had any ideas about how to correct the obesity problems of American and she had some excellent ideas, the very first of which is to remove pop machines. Her other ideas included reassessing price values in grocery stores so that the healthier foods are discounted, and the low nutritional foods are more expensive. In addition, Mrs. Haftel believes smaller portions and prices in restaurants would also help set America back on track.
Ready for another change, Mrs. Haftel left the nursing field behind and decided to become a teacher. Currently employed at Cabrini Elementary School in Allen Park, she was able to give me an account of a schooling institution through the eyes of a medical practitioner. “I believe that the lunch choices for students are poor to fair,” she remarked, going on to list off some examples of unhealthy cafeteria foods like hot dogs and bosco sticks. She notes the lack of a, “healthy alternative to bagged lunches from home,” yet the convenience of buying lunch lures many parents as well as students to simply buy. However Mrs. Haftel does notice that her fellow teachers tend to bring healthier lunches from home instead of eating the schools food. One reason why is because, as adults, the teachers are much more aware their health and nutritional habits, which is why Mrs. Haftel thinks schools should provide health classes for both parents and students in the low elementary grades that focus on nutrition, obesity, and diabetes. In addition, schools should also provide, “healthier lunch choices for students and teachers,” and only sell water in vending machines.
On the subjects of sports and homework, Mrs. Haftel has some interesting, new ideas. After informing her of reports that some schools are cutting down on recess in favor of more studying time, she responded, “I believe that the opposite should occur. Activity needs to increase in school. Recess is important. It gets the blood flowing to the brain and stimulates thinking.” She even suggests that if there is no opportunity for physical activity throughout the day, “then simple exercise routines should be established in the classroom,” like, “stretching after long periods of sitting at the desk.” As for increasing homework loads, Mrs. Haftel believes it is having a negative affect on people’s health for the same reason, prolonged inactivity, which in turn hurts concentration. To make it worse, “Some people choose to snack while studying for long periods, which increases the chance of obesity and blood sugar problems.” Basically, Mrs. Haftel points out that there needs to be changes made in school systems current operations, if the obesity pandemic, which she has first hand knowledge of, has hope of being fixed.
