Chronic Disease Self
- Management Workshops
Starting in Calaveras
County
A
new series of six-week workshops is starting this month to teach residents with
chronic conditions like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression,
arthritis or diabetes, the skills to better manage their conditions. The workshops are open to any Calaveras
County adults with chronic ongoing conditions and their family members or
partners. The no- cost workshops are sponsored by Public Health Services. “This is an opportunity for people to gain
skills and confidence in managing their chronic condition,” Dr. Dean Kelaita,
County Health Officer said in announcing the workshops.
In
California, 14 million adults, 38% of the population, live with at least one chronic
health condition. More than half have multiple chronic conditions. Chronic diseases can
limit
the ability of people to take part in normal activities and cause premature
disability or
death. People with chronic conditions
can avoid complications and improve their health through effective
self-management practices. Self-management skills include stress reduction,
healthy eating, ensuring good communication with your doctor and physical
activity.
The
workshops are led by trained and certified non-medical community health
workers, who also have chronic health conditions and personally understand the
challenges. The workshops were developed
by Stanford University. Community health
workers must meet the standards set by the University to be certified as
workshop leaders. Workshops will be
offered in the communities where the trained and certified community health
workers live.
Helping
patients to make good choices and practice healthy behaviors requires a
relationship among medical providers, patients and their caregivers. “Medical providers rely on our patients to
follow our recommendations but frequently we have only a short amount of time
for teaching self-management skills, especially skills tailored to each
person’s circumstances,” Kelaita said.
These workshops will allow people to build skills and develop plans for
leading healthier lives that work for them.
The
workshops will be held in San Andreas, Angels Camp, Mountain Ranch, Murphys
West Point and Copperopolis. There are
six session for each workshop. Each session is
two and a half hours long. Advance registration is required. Call Public Health
to register or for more information at 754.6460 or visit our website at www.calaveraspublichealth.com.
Funding
for the workshops is from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
as part of the Community Transformation Initiative, a project of the Public
Health Institute.