Alberta Health Services (AHS) program Better Choices, Better Health® will be hosting a series of six workshops, which will be offering support to Albertans living with ongoing health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, high blood pressure, obesity, chronic pain, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, colitis, Celiac disease and mental health concerns.
The six-week series of free workshops will be held via Telehealth on April 25 and May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Stettler Hospital and Care Centre.
“We offer a variety of workshops to support people and their families to better manage a chronic condition and make lifestyle changes,” said Maureen Mailer, area manager for Alberta Healthy Living Program (AHLP). “Workshop topics can be specific to the most prevalent chronic conditions in Alberta such as diabetes, high blood pressure, weight management, or can be general topics such as self-management, healthy eating, physical activity, stress management and benefits of good sleep. In reviewing the incidences of chronic health conditions in Alberta, it is similar for Stettler.”
According to Mailer, often people want to make changes but do not know where to start.
“They set very lofty goals and fail before they get started,” Mailer stated. “In Better Choices, Better Health®, participants learn strategies to break the symptom cycle – learn practical ways to handle pain, fatigue and stress. They discover better nutrition and exercise choices can have an impact on health, learning how to set goals that are meaningful to them personally and step-by-step action plans to achieve them.”
According to Mailer, people who have participated in Better Choices, Better Health® have discovered practical solutions to common challenges of living with a chronic condition.
“It is a common belief that the symptoms they are experiencing are because they have this condition,” Mailer added. “In Better Choices, Better Health®, as it is applicable to a wide variety of conditions, they realize that they are not alone – many of the challenges they experience are the same.”
All of the AHLP workshops are free and are available in Stettler.
“Workshops are facilitated by qualified health care professionals and based on current best practices. Family members and support persons are welcome to attend,” Mailer said.