Shriners Hospitals for Children � Spokane, in partnership with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Spokane County, is kicking off April with a month-long �Come Out to Play!� campaign focusing on healthy living and accident prevention. Come Out to Play Month encourages families to create healthy lifestyles at home, utilize local health and safety resources, and be creative in finding ways to keep the whole family active and healthy.

In the U.S., the percentage of overweight children has jumped from six percent to 17 percent in the past two decades. Lack of exercise and unhealthy eating habits are contributing factors. To help address some of these health issues, Shriners Hospital in Spokane is providing staff experts at the hospital's open house to help families learn about nutrition, exercise and play, development, healthy bones and joints, and safety.

�At Shriners, we have an interest in helping not only our patients, but all children and their families, to increase their knowledge about health and safety issues,� said Sally Mildren, spokesperson for the hospital. �This month- long focus gives us an opportunity to remind families and kids of how easy it is to increase their activity, their safety and begin building the habits necessary for a healthy adulthood�and we�re going have a lot of fun this month, too!�

The �Come Out to Play� campaign is being launched nationally by the nonprofit alliance, Together for Kids. Shriners Hospitals for Children�Spokane is excited to be one of 53 national children�s hospitals partnering with the new alliance for children.  For more information on Together for Kids, visit www.togetherforkids.org.