About 300 teenagers and adults braved the rain Saturday to attend the second annual youth health conference sponsored by TENNderCARE and the Hamilton County Health Department, officials said.
“Thank your for committing your Saturday to improving your health,” Health Department Administrator Becky Barnes told attendees at the New Monumental Baptist Church.
The afternoon conference featured about 10 classes on topics ranging from pregnancy to self-esteem, depression to gang violence. There was also a special class for parents where they could find out more about teen social networking and communication methods like text messaging.
Tony Brown, defensive tackle for the Tennessee Titans, and Terdell Sands, defensive tackle for the Oakland Raiders, held a special question and answer session for teens who attended.
Mr. Sands, a Chattanooga native, said he came to the conference because he considers himself to be a kid at heart. He said he wants to teach teens ways to overcome their mistakes. Mr. Sands said he overcame his own youthful mistakes — like having a son while still a teenager.
“Turn it into a positive,” he said.
Mr. Brown, also from Chattanooga, said it was simply good to be able to come out and see the kids. He said the main thing he tells teens who ask him for advice is for them to blaze their own path.
“Don’t try to follow the crowd,” he said. “The main thing is just about being yourself.”
A youth advisory committee of about 30 teens organized the conference and selected the topics for the classes, according to Health Department spokeswoman Kasey Poole Decosimo.
Marcus Shropshire, 18, a member of the committee, said the conference was about bringing together the community.
“I want to get everybody’s thoughts and opinions,” he said.
Veronica Gunn, chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Health, likewise called for the teens in attendance to get regular checkups.
“It’s really you all that are in the driver’s seat in regards to your health,” she said. “It’s too important to put your health on the back burner until you’re 30 or 40 or 50.”
Dr. Gunn related several stories of patients who waited until too late to seek treatment.
“It’s so tragic because it was preventable,” she said.
Dr. Gunn also told attendees that their behaviors as teens — such as smoking, drinking or having sex — can have a big impact on their later lives.
She said early periodic screening, diagnosis and treatment appointments, commonly known as checkups, can give teens a chance to talk in a private setting to their doctors about the results of their behaviors. She also said it provides a good forum for doctors to dispel myths about teen health.
