Commentary: Set healthy goals to maintain health and wellness

As a registered nurse, health and wellness bring to mind having a focus on prevention: preventing disease and illness in our children, our elders and ourselves.

Exercise is one of the greatest ways to promote health and wellness and the prevention of disease. As the health educator for the Healthy People Project in Estes Park and the director of Options for Healthy Living, a community-based wellness program for all ages, my nursing career focuses on helping people set healthy goals and achieve them.

Many of the serious health issues Americans face today are preventable. The occurrence of obesity has risen dramatically, for example, while physical activity has decreased. Being overweight and not getting regular physical activity is a deadly combination for many people, often leading to diabetes, heart disease and a host of other serious health problems. And despite Colorado’s reputation as being a haven for the health-conscious, people across the state are experiencing these types of preventable health problems. For example, just 24 percent of the adults in Colorado exercise the recommended amount each week. And, over the last 10 years, the rate of overweight adults in Colorado has risen from 16 percent to 34 percent. (Source: The Colorado Trust Healthy People 2010 Initiative Overview.)

The Salud Foundation and the Estes Park Salud Family Health Center’s Healthy People Project includes the “Colorado on the Move” step-counting program, Body Mass Index measurements, local restaurants placing stickers on healthy food selections, Health Tip of the Day radio announcements, special events, i.e., bike-a-thons, walk-a-thons, jump rope-a-thons and a master calendar of the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District Activities.

Options for Healthy Living works with clients to set and achieve personal wellness goals. Three areas of focus include: Wellness Program, Estes Park Therapeutic Riding Program — “Miracle Mount” — and community education programs.

As former director of nursing/assistant administrator of Estes Park Medical Center, a 16-bed acute-care hospital, I identified an unmet need in the community — a wellness program for all ages. So I resigned my position and began creating “Options for Healthy Living.” The Options team consists of a dietician; pharmacist; clinical herbalist for consultations as needed by the clients; and myself as a registered nurse offering physical assessment examination, goal setting and monitoring of success and an incentive program to reward positive changes in the client’s health. Clients track their progress in a logbook titled “Passport for Health.” The logbook is reviewed quarterly with clients. To measure the change in the health of the community, clients are asked to participate in a research study.

The second component of Options for Healthy Living is the Estes Park Therapeutic Riding Center, called “Miracle Mount,” which offers therapeutic riding for persons with mental, learning and/or physical disabilities. Recreational therapeutic riding is the main thrust of Estes Park Therapeutic Riding Center’s program. In these classes, instructors develop lesson plans that focus on each rider’s equestrian, therapeutic and other life goals. Classes generally consist of three to four riders grouped by age and ability. Each rider requires a lead walker who leads the horse and one to two side walkers who observe the rider to ensure safety. Estes Park Therapeutic Riding Center is a member of the North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.

The third component Options offers encompasses community health education programs such as: “Confident Voices, Responsible Choices” (sex education for teens); “Cappuccino Chat: Are You Ready for College in the Big City?” (personal safety); “Women’s Wisdom” (hormone replacement therapy); and currently a “Diabetes Education Lecture Series” co-sponsored by Anne Slack of Mountain Top Physical Therapy.

Options for Healthy Living’s Web site has information for the general public on health and safety issues. Check it out at www.optionsforhealthyliving.org. The Estes Park News features my “Health and Wellness” column where additional health education topics are discussed.

Rewards achieved from your involvement in the Healthy People Project and Options for Healthy Living include: