YMCA Advisory Board Appointment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
FORT WORTH, Texas—Dr. Sandi McDermott, director of Tarleton State University’s center on the Navarro College Midlothian campus, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Texas State Alliance of YMCAs.
The alliance aims to improve nutrition and physical activity standards for licensed out-of-school time (OST) programs in Texas.
During the 85th Texas Legislature, the Texas State Alliance of YMCAs will propose creating a voluntary recognition program for licensed OST providers—including school-aged and before- and after-school programs—that successfully implement specific physical activity and nutrition practices. Dubbed Distinguished Afterschool Health (DASH) Recognition, the proposed program would be administered by the Texas Department of Family Protective Services.
“I am honored to help ensure that our children get the kind of nutrition and physical activity that reduce chronic diseases and creates strong minds and bodies,” McDermott said. “Recommendations by the advisory board will be based on actual time per day that students in kindergarten through 12th grade spend performing moderate to vigorous physical activity, the availability of fruits and vegetables during meal or snack times, as well as exposure to non-academic use of screen time.”
A board member of the YMCA of Metropolitan Fort Worth, McDermott has a doctorate in nursing practice from Texas Christian University and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing from the University of Texas at Arlington. A 2015 graduate of Leadership Fort Worth, she is a member of the North Texas, Texas and American Organization of Nurse Executives and serves on the boards of the Tarrant County College Nursing School and Fort Worth Southwest Area Council Chamber of Commerce.
She began her nursing career as a doctor’s assistant and has worked for Baylor Health Care System as well as Texas Health Resources and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), where she helped open neuro-oncology and cardiovascular care units.
Tarleton, a member of The Texas A&M University System, provides a student-focused, value-driven educational experience marked by academic innovation and exemplary service, and dedicated to transforming students into tomorrow’s professional leaders. With campuses in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Midlothian and online, Tarleton engages with its communities to provide real-world learning experiences and to address societal needs while maintaining its core values of integrity, leadership, tradition, civility, excellence and service.
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Contact: Cecilia Jacobs
817-484-4412 (office)
817-597-6040 (cell)
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