What else can we do?
As everyone wrangles with health reform legislation, let’s also talk about ways we can reduce our own risk of getting sick.
Apparently some of us need some real motivation to live healthier lives. Here at the Asheville Citizen-Times, people who smoke cigarettes are charged more for health insurance than people who don’t. I’m just waiting for them to start charging people whose body-mass index is above a certain point.
A study earlier this week found more Americans than ever are overweight or obese, even knowing the risks it poses to health.
I’m overweight and I know it increases my risk for diabetes and certain types of cancer and causes extra wear on my joints. I am active — I ride my bike a couple times a week, walk, hike, take the stairs most of the time, work in the yard, go to the YWCA once in awhile.
But I’m still overweight.
I don’t want to be forced by the government to give up chocolate, but our society doesn’t make it very easy to get exercise. I work for one of the few newspapers that’s still downtown. Most of the other papers I’ve worked for have been on four-lane highways where it’s not even safe to drive, nevermind walk.
Suburban sprawl makes it nearly impossible to walk to the market for a lot of Americans.
Most employers don’t help workers pay for gym membership or install workout equipment in a room set aside for employees.
One of the most successful programs I’ve ever been involved in was a competition between employers where we registered and then kept track of how many minutes we exercised. It was more about moving than it was about weight, but I lost 20 pounds.
Here in Asheville we have Lighten up 4 Life, a competition that begins in January and winds up with a 5K in June. People lose weight and become more fit.
The big health care corporations aren’t the only reason we’re one of the sickest industrialized nations in the world.
We can, as individuals, stop eating fast food so often, stop using tobacco, stop drinking so much soda, walk more and take the stairs whenever it’s appropriate.
This is not the ultimate solution; it will not make access to care when we need it any easier, but it may help reduce the need for care.
Have a beer in May
Stop into Altamont Brewing, 1042 Haywood Road, West Asheville, any time in May and ask for their "charity" beer of the day. Buy one and Life o' Mike gets $1. In fact, we get a buck for each one sold. So go in every day and have one to support Life o' Mike.
Thanks, Altamont!
Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.