Moving for Health A Wellness Program Finding Success in Rural Newfoundland

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Moving for Health - A Wellness Program Finding
Success in Rural Newfoundland
Presenter Sherry Kennedy
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(No Transcript)
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Where We Came From..

• From Heart Health to Wellness

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Wellness on a
Budget
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What We Do.

• Mission
• To promote wellness and improve the health and
  well being in the Eastern region through improved
  partnership and coordination.
• Coalitions are bridges that connect people to
  people,
• people to organizations, or people to knowledge.

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Fun and Fitness Harbour Grace
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Take a bite out of wellnesswhere to from here?
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What can the Coalition offer its members?
Physical Activity
Healthy Eating
Program Moving for Health
Wellness Grants
Support your programs
Mental Health Promotion
Share Resources
Consult on issues
Creating network people who believe in wellness
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Moving for Health

• This program is for use by community leaders who
  have an interest and desire to get their adults
  in their community
• moving for health.

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Moving for Health Resources

• Two FREE resources
• a 53 minute video for leaders
• a binder with resource materials.
• Orientation and Site Visits are provided.
• Public Health Nurse assignment to each group for
  support.

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Friendship, Fun and Fitness Resource Binder

• How to get an indoor physical
• activity group started?

• Leader Structure
• Advertise for members
• Look for space in the existing community usually
  school or parish hall
• Schedule of classes
• Fee for classes

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Friendship, Fun and Fitness Resource Binder

• PAR Q
• Types of Physical Activities -
• endurance
• flexibility
• strength
• Therabands
• Use non latex therabands

• How to design a program to meet the needs of your
  group?

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Friendship, Fun and Fitness Resource Binder

• How to keep individuals interested and motivated?

• Start and finish on time
• Guest speakers
• Nutritionist
• Public Health Nurse i.e. SARS info
• Participate in other community events
• Weight Checks
• Blood Pressure Clinics
• Socials Potlucks, Spa Nights, Prizes
• Give cards to members in times of sadness or
  celebration

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Friendship, Fun and Fitness Resource Binder

• How to run a program on a shoestring budget?

• Use water bottles as low cost weights
• Use towels instead of matts
• Old catalogues or make your own steps
• ERWC Grants

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Friendship, Fun and Fitness Resource Binder

• Healthy Lifestyle Information

• Free literature titles available from Eastern
  Health
• Free videos from your public health nurse
• Free health promotion support from Coordinator
  for Moving for Health, Nutritionist, and Public
  Health Nurse

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Moving for Health Around the Region
Mount Carmel
Collingwood Downs Clarkes Beach
Right Normans Cove
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Unexpected Outcomes Moving for Health

• Making social contacts in a rural area
• Support from the group in times of need either
  sickness, or sorrow
• Three generations exercising together
• Breast self exam is promoted
• You Hold The Cure Walk to support local
  participants with Breast Cancer

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Unexpected Outcomes Moving for Health

• Many participants have had health benefits
• bone mass have stayed the same or increased
• Blood pressures have stabilized using less
  medications, less complications and a few off
  meds altogether
• Hip replacements, frozen shoulders, spinal
  fusions, fibromyalgia all feel more flexibility
  and better overall mental health
• Parkinsons participants are supported by groups
  doing facial exercises

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Unexpected Outcomes Moving for Health

• Self esteem are obvious with improvements in the
  BMIs and loss of inches.
• Inspiring story of local senior who was
  illiterate and the membership taught her to read,
  she is now mayor of her town.
• Local library partnered with group to offer
  library resources that were low literacy and
  healthy information for participants.

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Communities Hearts Delight-Islington, Winterton
and Whiteway
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Challenges

• Changing Mind Set of Seniors
• Historically, seniors in rural Newfoundland see
  physical activity as requiring a purpose such as
  chopping wood, bringing water, growing
  vegetables etc.
• They needed to recognize that physical activity
  still had a purpose in their survival, in keeping
  them mobile and flexible, thus maintaining their
  independence.

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Goal

• To improve the Health and Well-being
• of the Senior Population
• in the Hearts Delight area.

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Objectives

• To increase physical mobility
• To decrease the numbers of falls and injuries
• To provide a forum for socialization

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Developing Personal Skills

• Lets Get Moving!
• Using posters around the room as a guide to all
  the stretches and exercises in the program warm
  up, progress to active stretches and then a cool
  down period.
• Grand finale consists of a group activity or game
  such as balloon swatting, laundry basket-ball and
  or hallway bowling.
• Water is always essential to working out,
  referred to as Oil of Olay, as water keeps skin
  looking great!

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Strengthen Community Action

• Additional opportunities
• to promote physical activity within the community
  presented themselves.
• Eastern Regional Wellness Grant New ownership
  to personal care home.

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Challenges

• Sustain Program
• The personal care homes agenda is more structured
  because they have a vested interest as a business
  owner.
• It was challenging for the Fifty Plus group to
  take the initiative and ownership of Moving for
  Health.

Everyone enjoying a scuff after the Moving for
Health exercises.
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Challenges

• Activities had to be adapted to fit all levels of
  ability.
• Personal Care Homes have a chair program and
  group activities due to physical limitations and
  medical conditions.
• Fifty Plus Club found that they were able bodied
  to take on carpet bowling.

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Challenges

• Space
• Each site had to accommodate the number of
  participants and the limitations

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Evaluation Personal Satisfaction

• Quotes
• Carpet bowling is a laugh especially the women
  against the men.
• It gives us a sport in the winter when we cant
  get outdoors that much.

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Evaluation Personal Satisfaction

• Quotes
• In the morning it gets us out of our rooms, at
  that time of the day there is not many visitors.
• It is fun listening to the music we like -
  its a laugh.

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Evaluation Personal Satisfaction

• Quotes
• A 101 year old resident said, In the afternoon I
  usually have a nap, but because you (the nurse)
  was coming over, I wanted to get my snap taken.
  
• After the exercises, she commented, That was
  better than a nap!

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Evaluation Spin Offs

• Incorporating New Activities Personal Care Home
• New staff at personal care home
• New social program being incorporated
• Fun Day
• Volunteers help out with a computer program

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Evaluation Spin Offs

• Incorporating New Activities Fifty Plus Club
• Carpet bowling
• Therabands
• New social program

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Partnership
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Lifes Lessons

• People who share a vision and a sense of common
  direction can get there more quickly.
• It is harder to do something alone than together.
• Shared leadership and interdependence give us
  each a chance to lead as well as an opportunity
  to rest.
• We need to make sure our honking is
  encouraging, not discouraging.
• Stand by your group members in difficult times as
  well as in good.

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Wellness through PartnershipsOur groups are the
bridge builders!
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Questions and Answers
After all, an active community is a healthy
community!