Visit by Global Health Pioneer Paul Farmer to Cap a Whirlwind Wellness Week

Four-day annual student program will address prevention, humanitarian issues, and dance

October 21, 2009 — To mark Phillips Academy’s most expansive Wellness Week to date, Paul Farmer, the visionary doctor known for his work providing free health care to the poorest and most destitute in places such as Haiti and Rwanda, will address the student body on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at All-School Meeting. Dubbed a “reluctant hero” by the Boston Globe, Farmer’s role as a trailblazing visionary in global health care was documented in the 2003 bestseller “Mountains Beyond Mountains” by Tracy Kidder ’63. Farmer is expected to discuss his organization Partners In Health and its community-based approach toward impacting poverty and disease.

Now in its third year, PA’s Wellness Week will offer 24 different hour-long programs to students on the evenings of Nov. 2 to Nov. 5, in areas ranging from humanitarian issues, college admission season stress, responsible social networking, and even dance instruction. In order to focus on the week of nightly programs, students will take an abbreviated class schedule.

“We continue to refine the program to reflect not only the risk issues facing our students today, but also to engage them in learning about and practicing health-promoting activities,” says Carlos Hoyt, associate dean of students and Wellness Week coordinator. “We’ll still focus on the very serious issues related to eating disorders, drugs, alcohol, sex—these are as important as ever— but we also want to integrate fun in hopes of fostering wellness as a lifestyle that involves not only disciplined self-restraint, when called for, but also involvement in enjoyable activities, such as meditation and dance.”

This year, lowers will participate in a new game-show style program called “Knowledge! Goodness! Wellness!” where students can strut their knowledge of health related issues in a Jeopardy type contest. Uppers and seniors will now have the option of taking lessons in waltz, swing, and salsa, which according to Hoyt is not just about physical exercise, but also a way to “prepare a bit for those times in life when knowing how to really dance is a handy skill to have.”

In addition to the requisite three-night program juniors take on healthy choices related to alcohol and drug use, this year they will participate in a cyber-safety program that explores ways to safely and wisely communicate in email, texting, and on social networking sites such as Facebook.

As with last year’s program, there will be a global aspect to this year’s Wellness Week. In addition to hosting Farmer for All-School Meeting, programs on understanding U.S. global health policies, socioeconomic rights in Haiti, and about Farmer’s Partners In Health organization will be options for uppers and seniors