Teens gather at health convention

Teens are not known for leading the healthiest of lifestyles. However, this did not stop a large group of them from gathering earlier last month, in the hopes of learning how to make better choices to improve their health.
More than 200 high school students attended the Queens Health Coalition’s Third Annual Teen Health Convention on Wednesday, May 21. The event was held Queens Borough Hall, located at 120-55 Queens Boulevard and lasted from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“The goal of the convention was to demonstrate to high school students that they have options,” said Phyllis Shafran, executive director of the Queens Health Coalition.
During the event, students had the opportunity to hear from different speakers, including Molly Rokasy, a TV news anchor who spoke about dream careers and Sascha James, manager of the Perinatal Network and co-chairman of the Queens Perinatal Forum and Emily Gertz, Director of Family Planning at Long Island Jewish Hospital, who both spoke about teen pregnancy.
Other speakers included Dr. Hana R. Solomon, a pediatrician who spoke about allergy, sinus and asthma relief, Linda Chin, a faculty member at LaGuardia Community College who spoke about healthy eating and Ije Ude, from the Connect organization who spoke about healthy relationships.
“The speakers were living examples of good choices,” Shafran said. “They shared some of the benefits of their experiences.”
Students also had the chance to learn about teen alcohol abuse from Mike, a member of the Queens Intergroup Alcoholics Anonymous.
“He spoke straight from the heart,” Shafran said about Mike. “It was breathtaking.”
The Queens Health Coalition (QHC) is located at 163-13 Depot Road in Flushing. The QHC was founded in 1994 in the hopes of providing knowledge about health care to the underserved.
For more information on the QHC, contact Phyllis Shafran at 718-762-0346, Ext. 16.