Published on February 16, 2010

Genesis Medical Center Hosts Annual Boy Scout Merit Badge Day

More than 100 Boy Scouts from Iowa and Illinois will work with health professionals to earn first aid and medicine merit badges at the 8th annual Illowa Council Merit Badge Clinic on Saturday, March 6 at the Genesis Heart Institute and Genesis Medical Center.

The Merit Badge clinic will be held from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the lower level of the Genesis Heart Institute, 1236 E. Rusholme St., Davenport.

 The day-long clinic will train and test Scouts on how to recognize and   initiate treatment of conditions such as burns, frostbite, broken bones and severe lacerations.  The Scouts also will learn basic CPR and receive other information necessary to meet the requirements of the first aid badge.

The medicine badge introduces Scouts to the medical field, including a basic education in various medical careers.

There will be opportunities for Scouts to see state-of-the-art first aid and resuscitation equipment.  Most of the instructors will be EMTs, nurses, respiratory, laboratory and radiology staff and physicians. Tours of the hospital departments and demonstrations presented by physicians will be part of the medicine merit badge curriculum.

Doug Cropper, President and CEO of Genesis Health System and an Eagle Scout, will welcome the scouters.

"Genesis always looks forward to hosting this very popular day for Scouts. They can get a great start on these two merit badges in one day,'' Cropper said. "This event is also enjoyable for the health care professionals and other volunteers who make the event possible.

"Hopefully some of the Scouts who participate will one day be interested in pursuing a career in a health-related field."

Healthcare personnel who have volunteered for the event include Genesis Illini Ambulance staff, Mike Swanson, M.D., Bill Candler, D.O., Tereze Jeffries, R.N. and Benjamin Van Raalte, M.D.

"Genesis has been key in its support of merit badge days. Without the Genesis support, it would be very difficult to get the exposure for medicine merit badge," said Dr. Van Raalte, one of the organizers of the event.  "The level of training the boys receive for these merit badges would also be hard to duplicate without the volunteers who donate their time each year."

Interested Scouts must register in advance through the Illowa Council Scout Office at 563-388-7233 or visit the Illowa Council's Web site, http://www.illowabsa.org/.

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