Calaveras Public Health
Services has announced approval of a $20,000 funding contract from the Mark
Twain Health Care District to continue providing Healthier Living Chronic
Disease Self-Management Workshops. The workshop model was developed by Stanford
University to build the skills needed to manage chronic or ongoing health
conditions. The workshop leaders are
Community Health Workers trained and certified
to conduct the
workshops. “The strength of our
workshops is that we have identified non-medical people from the community who
also have chronic conditions and receive training to conduct the workshops,”
stated Dr. Dean Kelaita, Calaveras Health Officer. “They understand the challenges of managing a
health problem that is ongoing,”
Kelaita added.
The workshops are not
specific to a medical condition. The
self-management skills can apply to any ongoing health problem like diabetes,
high blood pressure, depression, high cholesterol, cancer, or arthritis. The workshops are currently funded through
the Public Health Institute through a federal Community Transformation Grant
that will end in September 2014. The new
funding will prevent a gap in workshop services that are offered at no-cost to
adults in the County.
Dr. Kelaita
continued, “Public Health is working with local community members to prevent
chronic disease and manage conditions by teaching them the skills to follow the
physician’s care plan. We can decrease
the burden of disease and maintain or improve the quality of life for many
residents.”
Public
Health Services has partnered with many community groups and residents to
improve the health of the community through the Community Transformation
Grant.
The
partnership with the Mark Twain Health Care District is a new and important
one.
“We
share similar goals and a vision for the health of the people in Calaveras
County,”
stated
Dr. Kelaita. This new relationship
brings together two complementary areas of health that far exceed the monetary
benefit from the funding. We will continue to hear the community stories that
document the challenges of living with chronic conditions through the Community
Health Workers and their provision of services as we build the capacity for
individuals to manage their health. "We
are very pleased to partner with the
Calaveras
Public Health Services for support of the chronic disease management program,"
stated Lin Reed, President of the Mark Twain Health Care District.
For
more information or to register for an upcoming Self-Management Workshop, call
Calaveras Public Health Services at 209-754-6460.