Type Non-profit Headquarters Barrington, Illinois | Industry Health Curriculum Key people Peter Rusin | |
Founded 1993 Barrington, Illinois Website /http://healthworldeducation.org/ | ||
Health World Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization founded in 1993 in Barrington, Illinois. Health World’s mission is to promote health and safety education by providing children with the information they need to build healthy lives.
Health World was founded by a group of community residents led by Peter Rusin, CEO of JFK Medical Center at the time. The rising number of health-related issues confronting children and adolescents concerned this group of community leaders. They chose to focus and build health curriculum dedicated specifically to the needs of children pre-K through 8th grade.
In 1995 Health World opened the $12 million, 85,000 square foot children’s museum ‘JFK Health World’ in Chicago, Illinois. Health World has since taught over 4,000,000 kids about making healthy choices. The museum would teach kids about making correct health choices, as well as give safety information and lectures to kids, such as teaching the Heimlich maneuver. In 2006 Health World expanded its regional education efforts when it closed the museum and transitioned to outreach education. In 2013 Health World made its preK-8th grade programs and education resources available nationwide via an online eLearning platform. Currently Health World programs are being utilized by educators in all 50 states.