Allina launches community wellness initiative

It seems that whenever the topic of health care surfaces in this country the main points are the problems associated with it. Whether it's the seemingly intractable problem of obesity in America or the politics surrounding health care reform, the discourse generally makes people feel bad about what's going on, and even worse about what the future holds. That was not the case at the Wright County Senior Providers Network meeting held at Buffalo City Hall earlier this week.

Janna Anderson, Wellness Program Specialist for Allina, was on hand to discuss a new program aimed at improving the overall health of the people living in the regions Allina serves. Still in its pilot stage, the program titled, "Let's Talk Wellness," was derived from a community survey conducted by Allina last year. The results of the survey exposed some of the roadblocks residents experience related to obtaining information that would help them develop healthier lifestyle habits. One of the main themes that came out of the survey told Allina that in order to be effective, they would need to send health facilitators out into the community to meet people where they are. Let's Talk Wellness does just that.

Instead of taking a doomsday approach to wellness in our communities, Janna puts a positive outlook on what can be accomplished, and more importantly, what can be sustained over a long period of time; quite possibly offering life saving solutions to some participants in the program.

With so much negativity surrounding the issue of health and wellness, Janna was a breath of fresh air. Her motivational style and coaching techniques are an asset to the Wright County area. For more information about the Let's Talk Wellness program contact:

Janna Anderson
Wellness Program Specialist
Community Engagement & Wellness
Mail Route 55000
303 Catlin Street
Buffalo, MN 55313
(763) 684-7568
janna.anderson@allina.com

True Story

The other day my friend told me about a coworker who's mother suffered from a fall at home. My friend wanted to know what advice I would give her coworker related to getting in-home medical care for his mother. As it turned out, his mother suffered a broken elbow and a broken hip and will require months of rehab before she is back on her feet. As my friend and I were talking I said to her, "Wouldn't it have been nice if your co-worker's mom had the help she needed at home before she got hurt?" My friend just said, "Yes, but hindsight is always 20/20."

While that may be the case, her co-worker's mother is still laid up and will wind up spending a great deal of time and money getting back to where she was before she fell. It's likely an ounce of prevention would have gone a long way to keeping her on her feet and I am positive it would have been less expensive. This notion seems easy to understand when it comes to pulling preventative maintenance on things like our vehicles, lawn mowers, and outboard motors. Why does it seem to escape us when the same notion applies to our bodies?

It's not hard for me to understand that Americans are a proud group of folks; we're not accustom to relying on someone else for our daily needs. Baby boomers literally built this country from the ground up and have endured a great deal of tumult in their collective lives. This is why the most difficult message to land is that if you wait until you need help you've probably waited too long to ask for help. If you have read this post and are thinking about someone you know that could use some help around the house please let them know our agency is here to help. Better yet, give them our phone number and tell them to call us. We'll take it from there.