prevention | Live Well Lamoille

The Power of Positivity and Reflection

May 07 2019

By: Leah Hollenberger

Northern Vermont University recently held its “Dinner with the Boss,” an event that welcomes students and alumni to give students experience in networking. Alumni were asked to share one “gem” they felt would be most helpful to students just beginning their journey in pursuing their chosen career. The advice was excellent, thought-provoking, and inspirational.

Common to each piece of advice was the importance of being authentic to yourself, using reflection to determine what is truly meaningful to you, and the strength of community. In short, embracing your heart as well as your mind and nurturing connectivity.

It reminded me of an exercise I did years ago as a participant in the ALIGN pilot program at Marlboro College. Through self-examination, careful observation, and reflection, I was able to develop a short specific list of what I need to have in my life on a monthly basis to stay healthy, positive, and engaged – what I would define as a successful life. I keep this list, typed out, in my desk drawer and I refer to it when I am frustrated, overwhelmed or stressed out. Typically, I quickly determine that I’ve neglected one of those items and refocus my actions. The exercise effectively improved my ability to reframe challenges in a positive, nurturing perspective instead of from an unhealthy, negative framework. Change is constant and I continue to use these tools that embrace heart and mind, my “attitude of gratitude,” to guide me in meaningful action.

There are many programs, books, blogs, and Instagram accounts available today that embrace this authenticity and provide tools to individuals and communities.

Marlboro College continues to offer a similar leadership program to the pilot in which I participated.
The Positive Education movement, based on the work of Martin Seligman’s work in positive psychology, embraces heart and mind via curriculum and in-school programming.
Resiliency efforts, including the Resilience Beyond Incarceration program with the Lamoille Restorative Center and programs at the Lamoille Family Center that address Adverse Childhood Experiences, utilize this work.
Whole Heart, Inc. has a wellness model, similar to the exercise I did, that gives you a way to personally define your successful life.
Ted Talks has several presentations regarding positive psychology.

My favorite piece of advice from “Dinner with the Boss” was a spur-of-the-moment adlib from an experienced educator. It demonstrated heart and mind by showing how a simple action can guarantee inclusivity without making a person declare a need while at the same time increasing the odds that her key message would be heard. What was the advice? “Always use the microphone.”

What tools do you use to encourage authenticity? What advice would you give a young person starting to pursue their career?

Leah Hollenberger is the Development and External Relations Officer for Northern Vermont University. She helped create the Live Well Lamoille Blog while serving as Vice President of Marketing, Development, and Community Relations for Copley Hospital. A former award-winning TV and Radio producer, she is the mother of two and spends her free time volunteering, cooking, playing outdoors, and producing textile arts. Leah writes about community events, preventive care, and assorted ideas to help one make healthy choices.

Hip Hip Hooray

Mar 26 2019

By: Dan Regan

The other day, Presidents’ Day to be precise, I had my hip replaced. Years of playing squash, a fast-moving and otherwise healthful racquet sport, had worn away the cartilage on one hip and had ground the joint down to nothing. The surgeon’s highly technical (sic.) diagnosis was that it was “beyond broken.”

Leading up to this common but still major surgery, I found myself with three overwhelming concerns: (1) my toenails; (2) a slight irritation at waist level, dry skin from Vermont’s cold winters exacerbated by a styrofoam flotation belt worn for exercise in a pool; and especially (3) whether home health, after the operation, would look askance at our small house, and at the clutter and occasional mess created by its three dogs and three cats. Anyone who has given birth may already be scoffing at these concerns. Whether they are merely peculiar, fairly usual, or an abject denial of what was to come, I am not sure.

I do know for sure that, soon to turn 73, I am extraordinarily fortunate. This was the first time I had ever been an in-patient at a hospital. By contrast, in a single year—2016 for instance—7% of the total US population experienced a hospital stay of at least one night duration. That’s over 35 million inpatient stays in one year.

These Americans—readers of this blog among them—are a hardy bunch. My hospital of choice (Copley) provided an exceptional quality of highly personalized care during my recent stay. The entire staff was just terrific.

Nevertheless, no matter how wonderful the ministrations of a healthcare team, a hospital is a humbling place. That’s because a hospital is an example of a « total institution »—that is, a place of work and residence where a large number of people are cut off from the wider community for a considerable time. Their new community has its own rhythm, rules, and procedures. For the healing and recovery process to play out properly, hospital patients must skillfully play their important roles; above all, they must make an effort to get better.

Of course, the promise of eventual recovery makes it all well worth it, but hospitalization is nevertheless far from easy: frequent patients have to be mighty tough. For one thing, a slight pall of anxiety overlays everything. Patient instructions, for instance, even for a planned-in-advance procedure such as mine, can end up seeming more complicated than assembling furniture from IKEA. Amidst the swirl of prescriptions, instructions, do’s and don’ts, it’s hard not to feel at least a little dense.

To be sure, lots of valuable lessons are learned in the process, including humility, gratitude and our common humanity. But they come at a price: a temporary loss of privacy, nakedness and exposure, the surgical assault upon one’s body, as well as a forced immersion into the private travails of strangers who are all too close.

No one looks forward to feeling these ways. Their antidote would seem to be minimizing hospitalizations. Accomplishing that will require, on the part of many of us, a greater focus on wellness. And even then, some hospital stays are the product of bad luck or non-preventable circumstances beyond our control. Certain microorganisms, genetic legacies, environmental factors or accidents can land us on our backs.

But there remain many hospital stays that result from individual lifestyle choices. My hope is that, to minimize the chances of being hospitalized, readers will take whatever steps they can toward their own wellness. Recent posts on this blog, for instance by Caleb Magoon and Michele Whitmore, provide some great and practical suggestions. Future posts will provide more, so stay tuned.

In addition, wouldn’t it be great if insurance providers increased their support for wellness? In Germany, for instance, certain blood pressure readings would yield an Rx for hydrotherapy and spa treatments. Try charging your insurer for those! Nor is there generally insurer support for membership in a gym or fitness center, despite the consensus among healthcare providers that more exercise would be beneficial for most people. Acupuncture, in spite of its lineage that dates back thousands of years, is rarely supported. Even therapeutic massage, the benefits of which are widely recognized, is not generally covered.

A greater investment in preventive and wellness measures would save a great deal of money now expended on curative, after-the-fact treatments. So I urge readers to take whatever steps they can, hopefully with—but even without—the support of their insurers. The hospital, even a great one, should be a last resort.

Dan Regan, a sociologist, is the former dean of academic affairs at Johnson State College and continues to work part-time for Northern Vermont University. He writes for a variety of publications about whatever interests him, including—recently—climate change, living with arthritis, the NFL players’ protests, and higher education.

Keeping Your Knees Healthy

Jan 29 2019

By: Leah Hollenberger

Copley recently hosted a seminar on Knee Health. A key piece of new information for several of the attendees was that exercise helps you build bone and maintain bone density. If you spend most of your time sitting down, your body gets the message that you aren’t using your bones, so your bones stop absorbing the calcium and minerals they need to become and stay strong. So to avoid problems with your knees, the best thing to do is to move more.

Here are some tips from the National Institutes of Health to help:

Think about all the movements you do every day: walking, climbing stairs, typing, turning doorknobs and lifting. Your bones, muscles, and joints all work together to make your body an amazingly movable machine. Like any machine, your body can suffer some wear and tear. It needs regular care and maintenance to keep moving with ease.

The main moving parts of your body include the solid bones, the joint tissues that link bones together, and the muscles that attach to your bones. Your body has about 200 bones and more than 600 muscles. These parts all work together to help you move throughout the day.

Muscle strengthening and proper joint alignment are important for just about anyone who wants to stay flexible and mobile. Exercises that improve your balance and strengthen your muscles can help to prevent falls.

Tips for Body Maintenance

Maintain a healthy weight. A knee sees 3–5 times body weight with every step.
Engage in muscle-strengthening (resistance) exercises. Activities that involve all your major muscle groups 2 or more times a week.
Stay active all week long. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week, such as brisk walking.
Wear comfortable, properly fitting shoes.
Eat a well-balanced diet. Focus on vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and lean protein.
Get enough calcium and vitamin D daily to protect your bones.

80-1000 IU of Vitamin D daily
1,200 mg calcium daily for women age 51–70, and men and women age >70
1,000 mg calcium daily for men age 51–70

Copley’s Rehabilitation Services created a free downloadable guide to the best exercises you can do to keep your knees strong. See it online here.

Leah Hollenberger is the Vice President of Marketing, Development, and Community Relations for Copley Hospital. A former award-winning TV and Radio producer, she is the mother of two and lives in Morrisville. Her free time is spent volunteering, cooking, playing outdoors, and producing textile arts. Leah writes about community events, preventive care, and assorted ideas to help one make healthy choices.

Become a Live Well Lamoille Blogger!

Jan 22 2019

The Live Well Lamoille blog is a joint community effort to share information and encourage one another to make healthy choices, and now YOU have the opportunity to be a part of it! This month, we are beginning our search for new bloggers to join the conversation about how to live well and build a healthier community.

So many factors contribute to “health.” Medical care is certainly important; however, many of the other factors that shape our health reside outside the doctor’s office, such as access to nutritious food, economic stability, and the policies and laws that shape the choices available to us.

Too often, the clinical aspects of healthy living are considered separate from the more social aspects. Live Well Lamoille attempts to create a shared space where our community can come together for a more holistic conversation. We bring together bloggers from health organizations, local government, advocacy groups, educational institutions, and local businesses to contribute blog posts sharing resources, activities, and ideas to help readers make healthy choices.

This year, we hope to feature even more perspectives and approaches to improving health. Adults over the age of 18 in the Lamoille Valley are invited to enter our contest to become a new Live Well Lamoille blogger. Entering is simple:

Visit Copley Hospital’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CopleyHospitalVT
Comment on the blog contest announcement (link above) discussing why you would be a great blogger to represent and inspire people in our community to make healthy choices.

Use this as an opportunity to introduce yourself and let your personality shine. Who are you? What is your approach to health? Do you enjoy cooking, exercising, or practicing mindfulness? Do you work to improve quality life for children and families through your career?

We are looking for a variety of backgrounds and approaches to health and wellness. In the past, bloggers have written about both traditional healthcare topics (such as heart health and managing a chronic disease), as well as topics not traditionally thought of in health discussions, such as:

neighborhood walkability
preventing substance abuse
addiction recovery
early childhood education
coping with grief
local recreational resources

Every blogger will bring their own unique voice and stories to the blog. Each Live Well Lamoille blogger will be responsible for writing 2 to 3 blog posts per year.

Head on over to Copley Hospital’s Facebook page and tell us why you would make a great blogger!

The Jeffersonville Culvert Program

Nov 27 2018

By: Lea Kilvádyová, Lamoille County Planning Commission

This is a story of one community’s dedication to improving the health of its residents by reducing the occurrence of flooding in the historic core of their village. Read about the intent behind installing a new large culvert under VT Route 15 in Jeffersonville.

Due to its location at the confluence of the Brewster and Lamoille Rivers, the Village of Jeffersonville lies within the 100-year floodplain and is prone to severe flooding. During 2011, Jeffersonville was inundated with floodwaters three times and experienced extensive damage to roads, culverts, businesses, and homes. Mann’s Meadow, housing for families and seniors, was evacuated due to road closure, power outage, and building flooding.

Arial photo of Jeffersonville’s 2011 flooding with an approximate location of flood mitigation improvements (in red).

Following the 2011 floods, the community worked with regional planners from Lamoille County Planning Commission and Milone & McBroom Engineers to develop a comprehensive plan to reduce the flooding in Jeffersonville. One part of the plan, and the most recent improvement implemented in November 2018, was the construction of a large flood bypass culvert under Route 15. (A culvert is a structure that allows water to flow under a road, trail, or similar obstruction from one side to the other side.)

The culvert is located between the new Union Bank building and the Joinery/Jeffersonville Automotive. The culvert is designed to reduce flood damages in the Village of Jeffersonville by allowing floodwaters from the Brewster River to flow out of the Village before impacting structures and property. Based on the detailed flood modeling completed after the spring 2011 flooding, the culvert – along with the larger Greenway Bridge installed last year – will significantly reduce flood levels and greatly reduce the need for road closures or evacuations of Village residents in the future.

New flood bypass culvert under Route 15 in Jeffersonville

The culvert construction has been made possible in part by funding provided by FEMA’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program and Vermont’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery Program. For more information, contact Lamoille County Planning Commission at 888-4548.

Family Health History

Nov 20 2018

By: Leah Hollenberger

Thanksgiving Day, November 22, is also Family Health History Day. As you gather with family this holiday, why not spend a few minutes with your loved ones exchanging medical histories?

There are several diseases that commonly run in families, including diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer osteoporosis, and sickle cell anemia.

Not many of us have detailed and precise information about other family members’ health histories. But any information can be helpful. Creating a Family Health History, and sharing it with your doctor and other healthcare practitioners, will help your provider recommend actions for reducing your personal risk of disease or help in looking for early warning signs of disease.

Reaching out to other family members to share your family health history, can help develop a more inclusive, larger family health history. And in doing so, talking about your family health history can help each of you stay healthy.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has an online tool, “My Family Health Portrait,” that makes it easy to capture and save your family medical history. You can share the document with other family members and easily update it. The tool is available online at https://phgkb.cdc.gov/FHH/html/index.html.

Pen and paper works just fine as well. The March of Dimes also has downloadable PDF health history form you can use at marchofdimes.org/family-health-history-form.pdf. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a form too, at www.hhs.gov/programs/prevention-and-wellness/family-health-history/family-health-portrait-tool/printable/index.html.

However you decide to record your family health history, it should include:

Health history of your parents, your brothers, and sisters, and your children; next in importance are grandparents, uncles and aunts, nieces and nephews, and any half-brothers or half-sisters. Finally, it is helpful to include great aunts, great uncles, and cousins.
Age for all relatives, including age at time of death for the deceased and what caused their death.
Ethnicity/Ancestory, as some genetic diseases are more common in certain ethnic groups.
Presence of chronic diseases.

The HHS suggests these questions to help get the conversation going:

Do you have any chronic illnesses, such as heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes?
Have you had any other serious illnesses, such as cancer or stroke?
How old were you when you developed these illnesses?
Have you or your partner had any difficulties with pregnancies, such as miscarriages?
What medications are you currently taking?
Do you have, or have you had, any learning or developmental disabilities?

You should be prepared to ask some follow up questions. For example, if an uncle tells you he has heart disease you will want to ask:

How old were you when you developed the disease?
Did you have a heart attack?
Have you had any procedures done related to your heart? If so, what and when?
Do you have other medical problems, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure?
What medications are you taking to help with any of the above?

Please realize that this conversation could be difficult for some members of your family. Not everyone may want to share their personal health information or it could bring up some difficult emotions. Being respectful and sensitive to their feelings is important. It may help to share in advance why you are asking these questions and what you plan to do with the information.

So this Thanksgiving, in addition to asking for the recipe for that delicious side dish, ask them to also share their health history and anything they know about other family members’ past health.

Wishing you a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.

The Power of Habit

Nov 06 2018

By: Rorie Dunphey

Have you ever ‘decided’ to make changes to your health (lose weight, quit smoking, start exercising…), only to be disappointed in yourself days or weeks later having ‘failed’? You may feel disappointed in yourself due to a ‘lack of willpower’ or simply feel overwhelmed by how hard it is to change. In fact, change is not a ‘decision’, but rather it is a process that takes time and patience.

Don’t underestimate the power of habit! Habit formation (whether starting or stopping a behavior) is both physical and psychological. Our brain actually creates neural pathways for new behaviors. Our body and mind are in the habit of behaving in a certain way, and it can take time for a new habit to form or an old habit to diminish.

Change is a process, not an event. Here are some tips to help create healthy habits:

Practice patience. Research tells us that it takes as much as 180 days to truly let go of an old habit and adopt a new one. So hang in there!
Stop beating yourself up! Putting yourself down if you find yourself engaged in the old habit can damage our confidence. Instead, practice positive thinking and be compassionate with yourself.
Celebrate catching yourself. Instead of putting yourself down for ‘being weak’, congratulate yourself for being aware. Each time you catch yourself and become aware, you will build confidence and motivation.
Use structures to help remind yourself about the new behavior or goal. For example, put sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, set an alarm on your phone, or link the new behavior to something you already do (like walking right after breakfast).
Involve others in your goal. Let family, friends or co-workers know you are working to change. Enlist support and feedback to help. Find a partner with a similar goal to help motivate each other!
Work with a health coach or healthcare provider. They can provide support and accountability during the process of habit formation.

Don’t wait until New Years to make healthy changes in your life. Habits can be changed or created any time of year!

Rorie Dunphey works under Vermont’s Blueprint for Health as the RN Chronic Care Coordinator at Family Practice Associates in Cambridge. She works one-on-one with people and also leads classes to promote health and help people better manage their chronic diseases. She also assists patients in accessing community and state resources to better coordinate their health and wellness needs. Rorie has a particular passion for promoting a healthy diet and exercise routine to inspire people to live their best life.

How to Get Started Mountain Biking

Oct 04 2018

By: Bonnie Strong, Copley Hospital Authorization Coordinator

Mountain bikes are a great way to exercise and get out into the woods. Compared to road bikes, they have bigger tires with rugged tread and suspension to absorb shock. Trails vary from smooth and flowy to technical single track.

After you figure out what kind of riding you want to do (trail, x-country, enduro, downhill) head to your local bike shop and they will fit you to the appropriate type of bike. There are different types of riding and bikes to match. Trail bikes are good for all purposes and most riders around here have these. Cross-country bikes are lightweight and good for smoother trails (they have no rear suspension); enduro bikes are ok for uphill and good for downhill, while downhill bikes are specific for lift assisted mountains and bike parks.

Ride some demo bikes or rent them and check out some bike swaps. Ask your bike friends what they’re into; it’s a great way to socialize. Grab some biking shorts, gloves, and a helmet. There are plenty of clinics at mountain bike centers (often free!) that will get you started and they’ll rent you a bike. Learn the basics and you’ll be on your way.

Most towns with mountain biking trails have a club that does a weekly group ride. If you’re not riding with others yet, it’s a great way to learn where the trails are, improve your riding and meet other riders. The rides are divided into different levels and you won’t be left behind. Meet up with the riders at your level on other days or head out on your own and keep learning and improving. Go to other bike shops in other towns for maps and ideas, and ride everywhere. Soon, you’ll be hooked!

Bonnie Strong is Authorization Coordinator at Copley Hospital and volunteers with Stowe Trails Partnership. When not biking, you can find her doing trail work and leading group rides.

An Invitation to Participate

Sep 18 2018

By: Jessica Bickford

Everyone reading this post has at least one thing in common: We are all part of a community. We can choose our level of interaction, but that does not change the fact that we are still members of a community. Living in a community provides us with opportunities to participate in making that community better. This occurs at several levels:

Individually … We can be our best self. What can you do to take care of you today?

In our homes … We look out for those with whom we live and work together to create a safe and loving home environment. Did you know that spending just one hour a day with our kids can have major positive impacts on their overall well-being? (These don’t have to be big things… think meal-times – preparing, eating, and cleaning up together… playing a game, reading a book, folding laundry together, taking a walk.)

In our neighborhood… We can choose to be good neighbors, watching out for others and being helpful, considerate, and caring for those around us. When was the last time you checked in on a neighbor?

In our towns… We can volunteer on a community board, coach a youth sports team, show up to vote, obey the laws, etc. How might you get involved in your town?

In general, we can be active community members by learning about our community and doing what we can to make it a better place to live, work, and play. We can choose to make a positive difference.

Healthy Lamoille Valley, our community substance prevention coalition, invites you to come on Tuesday, September 25^th to learn more about what the middle and high school students in our region are experiencing. We will look at the bi-annual Youth Risk Behavior Data for our region and some of the work that is currently happening to reduce risk factors. Once we take a look at the data, we will talk about where risks are for youth are in our community and find ways, in our own circles of influence, to support youth. Visit https://healthylamoillevalley-coalition2018.eventbrite.com to see more information about the event and preregister.

Hope to see you there!

Jessica Bickford has worked as Coordinator of Healthy Lamoille Valley for a little over two years, where she has enjoyed writing for their blog. Writing for Copley’s community blog is a natural extension of this experience! Healthy Lamoille Valley focuses on making healthy choices easy choices, realizing that when we have access to healthy options we are less likely to choose behaviors that are harmful. Prevention is really a lifestyle of wise choices that enable us to live life to the fullest.

Be Tick Smart

May 22 2018

From the websites of the Vermont Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Vermont Department of Health has an active campaign to help educate people about ticks and how to avoid being bitten which in turn prevents the spread of tickborne diseases. In Vermont, ticks are most active between early spring and late fall.

Before You Go Outdoors

Know where to expect ticks: Ticks live in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas. They may live on animals as well, including your pet dog or cat.

Treat clothing and gear, if you can, with products containing 0.5% permethrin: It remains protective through several washings.

Cover up: Wear long sleeves, long pants and tuck your pants into your socks. Wearing a hat and a bandana around your neck helps, too.

Use EPA-registered insect repellent: It should contain one of the following: DEET, picaridin, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD), or 2-undecanone. Caution! Don’t use insect repellent on babies younger than 2 months old. Don’t use products containing OLE or PMD on children 3 years old and younger.

When Outdoors

Try to avoid ticks: Ticks don’t jump, they grab on when you brush against them.

Avoid wooded & brushy areas with high grass & leaf litter. Or at least cover up exposed skin when you do. Walk in the center of trails.

After You Come Indoors

Check your clothing for ticks. Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks.
Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks.

Shower soon after being outdoors. Showering within 2 hours of being outdoors may reduce your risk of getting tickborne diseases. Showering may help wash off unattached ticks and it’s a good opportunity to do a tick check.

Use a hand-held or full-length mirror and your hands to check:

In and around your hair
In and around your ears
Under your arms
Inside your belly button
Between your legs
Behind your knees

Check your pets for ticks.

If You Find a Tick Attached to You

Remove it. The best way to remove a tick is to use fine-tipped tweezers to pull straight up until all parts of the tick are removed.

Watch for symptoms. Symptoms may include fever, headache, joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue or a rash soon after a tick bite. You may see symptoms as soon as three days after a tick bite, but they can appear as long as 30 days after.

Call your health care provider immediately if you do get symptoms. Tell them about the tick.

The Vermont Health Department has a number of free, evidence-based materials available. You can download them here.

It is essential that you seek professional advice for all issues concerning your health. Do not take any of the information in this blog (either in posts or comments) as professional advice or official communication from Copley Hospital or any of the blog authors. Posts and comments on this blog are not intended to be professional advice, unless implicitly indicated in the blog post, and do not necessarily reflect Copley Hospital policy or corporate opinion. The opinions and/or views expressed on Live Well Lamoille represent the thoughts of the individual bloggers and commenters, not those necessarily of the organizations they represent or organizations affiliated with the blog.

All links to other Web sites found linked from Live Well Lamoille, Copley Hospital’s blog, and social media sites, are provided as a service to readers, but linkage does not constitute endorsement of those sites by Copley Hospital, and as such we are not responsible for the content of external Web sites.

Tag - prevention