Wellness News
Flu Shot Clinics Begin This Week
The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness begins a series of walk-in flu shot clinics this week.
Starting Thursday, residents can visit firehouses and other sites across the city to get an immunization, which this year includes both the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine.
There’s also push by health officials to vaccinate more African-Americans, who accounted for 35 percent of flu-related hospitalizations across the country last year.
Church leaders are joining the effort this year to spread the word, among them the Reverend Frank Smith.
“We’re asking for pastors to take a time in these next few weeks to specifically address from the pulpits and in your teaching formats the necessity of our faith community to participate in this effort,” he said.
The health department says there is an ample supply of flu vaccine this year.
Make wellness an integral part of your lifestyle
Fort Collins/Loveland was declared the leanest metro area in the U.S. by a Gallup Poll this year. Wellness is part of the cultural and physical landscape here.
In this column, Jeb and I will be sharing with you information as well as motivation for living the healthiest life possible. We’ll be showing how improving your lifestyle is not just about willpower or self-denial but rather more about having a vision, plan and the support you need for success. By sharing the latest research, the best how-to tips and inspiring stories, we hope to show you how to make wellness a natural part of your life.
The term “wellness” has been used and abused. My short definition is that wellness is living your life very consciously in ways that enhance your health and well-being. It’s remembering that we have choices, and then making those day-to-day decisions that improve our way of living.
Helping people be healthy is something I’ve been doing my entire career as a psychologist, wellness coach, author, trainer and consultant in the wellness business. My company, Real Balance Global Wellness Services LLC, has trained more than 2,000 wellness coaches worldwide. I’ve been involved professionally in the wellness field since the late 1970s, helping companies, health-care organizations and individuals maximize wellness opportunities. I also have the perspective of someone who is older than 60 but still runs, hikes, canoes and loves to dance, fish, cross-country ski, explore wilderness and travel. I’ve been practicing Tai Chi for more than 20 years and value the connectedness I have with family and friends.
An expert in the health, fitness and wellness industry, Jeb Gorham emphasizes that wellness is a vision of health that focuses on awareness, choice and results. Jeb has coordinated fitness programs for the University of Northern Colorado and directed a Global Education Division for Peak Pilates. In his current role as wellness director for Miramont Lifestyle Fitness, Jeb develops and manages programs and projects to incorporate exercise, overall wellness, proactive health and preventative strategies into people’s lifestyles.
Jeb is active with the Coalition for Activity and Nutrition to Defeat Obesity, or CanDo, and Fort Collins Well City initiatives. Jeb enjoys cycling, climbing and spending time with his growing family. As a Coloradoan columnist, Jeb hopes to share with the community current research and successful strategies for creating and adhering to a healthy lifestyle. As Jeb says, “Provided the fact that Michael has been involved in the wellness field since around the time I was born, we feel our cross-generational team presents an exceptional and unified vision of health and wellness.”
Jeb and I will be alternating the writing of this column. We invite you to join us on a wellness journey to better living.
Michael Arloski, Ph.D., PCC, is CEO of Real Balance Global Wellness Services LLC. Call him at (970) 568-4700, send e-mail to michael@realbalance.com or visit www.realbalance.com. Jeb Gorham, Ph.D., is wellness director and central manager for Miramont Lifestyle Fitness. Call him at (970) 672-1558 or send e-mail to jgorham@miramontlifestyle.com.
Council on Aging sponsoring “Road to Wellness” workshop for older drivers
THE ROAD TO WELLNESS OLDER DRIVERS WORKSHOP
(ASHEVILLE) — The Buncombe County Aging Coordinating Consortium Community Awareness and Advocacy Committee presents The Road to Wellness, a four-hour (10 a.m. – 2 p.m. ) workshop for older drivers, Wednesday, Sept. 15, at The NC Center for Creative Retirement. Space will be limited and registration is required; brochures are available from The Council on Aging – 277-8288 http://www.coabc.org – or the Land of Sky Regional Council Volunteer Services Department – 251-7441 or http://www.landofsky.org/volunteer. Registration is $5(five dollars) and includes a boxed lunch; checks should be made payable to The Council on Aging of Buncombe County, Inc., and note “Road to Wellness.” To register by phone, call Joe Kellum at The Council, 277-8288.
Topics will include how to assess your driving abilities, changes associated with aging that affect driving skills, hints for choosing the right vehicle for maximum safety and fit, how to Identify specialized safety equipment that can improve safety, reviewing basic road rules and tips to reduce your risk of being in a collision, exercises that improve or maintain the range of motion and muscle strength to improve driver safety, and CAR FIT — a program of AARP that assesses driver safety with the driver in the vehicle.
Sponsors include The NC Center for Creative Retirement, CarePartners, Mountain Mobility, Stacie’s Personal Care Services, Inc., and Round About Transportation.
Quick Facts about Driving:
• 131 million vehicles are registered in the United States;
• An older driver requires ten times more light to see than a 20 year old does;
• It takes a 55 year old driver eight times as long to recover from glare as a 16 year old;
• A typical driver makes twenty decisions per mile, with less than half a second to act to avoid a collision.