Life Care Center of Hixson’s Live Well series has been about sharing wellness with the community. From admissions to rehab, nursing to activities and dietary, associates from multiple departments have been involved in the events to serve not only the facility’s own residents but residents in the region at large in their pursuit of health.
One of the biggest components to this strategy has been wellness fairs. Since February 2014, the facility has provided monthly wellness checks at no cost to community members. Set up in the outpatient therapy gym, the sessions include blood pressure checks, balance and fall prevention testing, BMI assessments, depression and anxiety screenings, grip strength testing, nutrition screening, medication review, memory screening and vestibular testing for dizziness and vertigo. Each participant receives a folded card with sections for each station so that the information can be recorded for easy presentation at the doctor’s office.
“Our wellness checks benefit community members by providing them with baseline measures regarding their health that they can share with their health care providers,” said Julie Sosebee, director of rehab services. “The feedback we have gotten has been very positive. One gentleman shared with Mae Petty, our activity director, that she saved his life when she completed the depression screening with him.”
Molly Findley, director of nursing, added, “Most people do not visit a clinic unless they are ill. Our wellness clinic allows people to receive health information and ask questions for reassurance purposes prior to urgent need.”
On March 13, the facility took the wellness checks program to the John Calvin Apartments, a senior housing complex in Hixson. Associates offered the same screenings as at their on-site events, but also added a pre-diabetes assessment courtesy of Megan Vermeer, program coordinator for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chattanooga.
“The John Calvin Apartments are a part of our community,” said Angie Stiltner, director of business development. “There are many who live in the community who are unable to drive to wellness clinics, such as our Live Well events. We decided to provide them with the same services and move the clinic outside our four walls.”
“Our residents enjoyed it very much,” said Haia Zellermayer, service coordinator at the John Calvin Apartments. “They found it informative. They learned things they didn’t know before, and it was nice to have some of the services, like the blood pressure checks. The staff was very knowledgeable and friendly.”
Ms. Zellermayer has invited Life Care Center of Hixson to come back again in the near future to provide the wellness checks at the individual apartments to serve more of the residents.
if you would like to schedule a wellness clinic for your group, please contact Ms. Stiltner at 842-0049 for more info.