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H.I.P.P. Coordinator Julianne Kelly Municipal Employee Wellness Coordinator One Government Center Health Department Fall River, MA 02722 Tel.: 508.324.2405 Contacts

Achievements

Personal Achievements

The City employee who acheived the greatest weight loss over the Fitness Challenge-30 lbs.

Officer Andy Konarski Making Smoking History

HOW DID YOU DO IT? The story of how one municipal employee changed the habits of a lifetime.

Program Successes

Municipal Employee Wellness Program Promotes Healthy Hearts

Wellness-Mayor Correia Shows It's In The Blood!

Fall River Firefighters Screened for Heart Disease Risk.

Contest Winners

Personal Achievements

Congratulations Ken Medeiros of the City Maintenance Department!

The City employee who acheived the greatest weight loss over the Fitness Challenge-30 lbs. Congratulations Ken Medeiros of the City Maintenance Department! The Fitness Challenge which offered low-cost fitness and nutrition activities through Community Development Recreation, the Diabetes Association and the YMCA. Click here for more photos and text about the fitness group.

Officer Andy Konarski Making Smoking History

In my first weeks as Municipal Employee Wellness Coordinator I was happy to meet Police Officer Andy Konarski in the lobby of City Hall. I told him about my goal to improve the health of city and town employees by making them aware of wellness programs in the community, health benefits through their insurer, and create programs where none existed. I told him one of the most important goals was to assist employees who wished to quit smoking.

Andy told me the story of how he quit smoking- 10 years ago.

Research has shown that successful quitters follow a series of steps in order to change their behavior. Andy's story was amazing to me because it demonstrated exactly how people do progress through the stages of behavior change.

Andy was 16 years old when he began smoking off and on. This habit picked up as he moved into adulthood. As an adult Andy smoked a pack and a half per day.

Andy came face to face with the effects of smoking when his father died from emphysema at the age of 67. Although he did not try to quit for many years to come, quitting was now on his mind.

In 1997, Andy began to think seriously about quitting. He began to make plans to quit. He bought the nicotine patch. It sat on the counter in his house untouched. Andy talked to friends who had quit smoking. "Set a date", they advised. "Pick an important date as a deadline-like your birthday."

Still Andy hesitated.

His 35th birthday was approaching and Andy got sick. One of the most frightening symptoms was that he could not breathe easily. Thinking of his father, he reached out and grabbed the patch, still sitting on the counter.

He started that day. He soon gave up on the patch due to side effects he didn't like. His friends who had successfully quit became his support system, his method of quitting.

"There are tricks you need to get by. You know those red hot candies? Buy them. Keep them in your pocket. Every time you have the urge to smoke, pop one of those candies in your mouth," was one friend's advice. Andy filled his pockets with those candies.

Then he began to worry about his weight. "Don't", admonished his friend. "It is more important to stop smoking." Andy's friend's suggestions helped with the psychological and physical cravings smokers' experience. "He told me to pick up a pencil. Go through the motions of smoking, lifting the pencil to your lips, holding it between your fingers."

"There will come a day," his friend advised, " maybe after a month or so, and you will realize that you didn't miss the cigarette."

Andy celebrated 10 years smoke free last January, on his birthday. "Everything smells and tastes better. I am in better physical shape. I started running and walking."

"It is an individual decision. You have to do it for yourself. I have faith in God and prayed for strength to get through." I asked about the craving that quitters experience. Andy agreed that it is a problem. "You have to dig down some days and get through it"

As we finished our conversation, I pointed to a poster I had hung in the lobby. It showed my husband holding his little granddaughter. They were sitting at the table, surrounded by family. On the table was a cake with the words written across: Everyone Loves A Quitter. We were celebrating my husband's 4th month without a cigarette.

I told Andy my husband's story. 35 years of smoking. Many unsuccessful attempts at quitting. Finally he has succeeded. As Andy looked at the picture of Jim and little Meredith, he said, " Well, he certainly has a reason to quit. He will get to enjoy his granddaughter a lot longer."

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Personal Achievements Program Successes Contest Winners

HOW DID YOU DO IT? The story of how one municipal employee changed the habits of a lifetime.

No one could ever accuse Somerset Town Nurse Tammy LaMothe of being half-hearted. Her life's story demonstrates resiliency and determination. Finding herself in a dead-end job as a medical assistant, her husband encouraged her to follow her dream and return to nursing school. At the age of 34, Tammy quit the position she had held for 12 years and returned to school completing her LPN. At 40, Tammy, a believer in life long education, returned to school again, achieving her RN at the age of 41! She is a role model for us all.

When it came to smoking, it took 4 attempts to make the break and permanently quit. She used the nicotine patch-no luck. She tried nicotine gum-no way. She went cold turkey-not on your life! After 3 strikes out, she found the method that worked for her, support from family and friends, along with a prescription of Wellbutrin.

That was 9 years ago.

This determination tells you a great deal about Tammy LaMothe. Determination was what was needed in facing her life-long struggle with her weight. Tammy, like many others, used smoking to help her control her weight. Quitting smoking coincided with some major life transitions. Her son moved out to attend college, while her newly retired husband became a "snowbird" living in their second home in Florida. Tammy now says that she was swept into depression by these changes and "treated" the depression by eating. Always overweight, Tammy gained an additional 30 pounds during this "mid-life crisis."

Research shows that changing a habit is a process involving 6 stages. During the first stage, you are not the least bit interested in changing your behavior, even when you know the risks to your health and happiness. In the second stage, you contemplate changing your behavior within the next 6 months. Moving from contemplating to action is a critical step. People can stay in the Contemplation Phase for years! Often it is a crisis that helps you leap from contemplation to action. For example, Tammy's decision to quit smoking was propelled by learning that her father-in-law had been diagnosed with lung cancer.

In terms of weight, the final catalyst for Tammy that moved her to action was the disparaging comments about her weight by a couple of her clients. "Tammy, you've put on SO MUCH WEIGHT! What's going on with you?" Those comments did the trick. They hurt, but got her moving.

Preparation is essential for effective action. First, Tammy found a like-minded friend who invited her to a Pilate class. She joined but stayed in the back of the room because "I was SO out of shape."

She chose a weight loss program: Jenny Craig. "I was already a "lifetime" Weight Watchers member. I wanted to try something different." The moment of truth arrived when Tammy stepped on the scale at the first visit. She weighed in at 208 lbs.

The first 20 lbs. came off easily. "I lost 7 pounds the first week." Then it got harder, but she stuck to it and over the course of 15 months Tammy lost 54 pounds. She still goes to Jenny Craig "to keep me accountable", but no longer purchases the special Jenny Craig foods. Now healthy eating is part of her daily life.

She still has a few pounds to lose, she says, and feels she does not get the support she would like. "People can sabotage you. They say 'today is not a diet day'." But Tammy is right on track. She explains: "I am not on a diet. This is my lifestyle-to eat healthy and reasonably."

Tammy's story gives us a valuable lesson. To keep weight off, as Tammy has done, means looking for a life-long change regarding our eating habits, not a quick-fix diet that offers instant success. If it took us 3 years to put on that last 20 pounds, it is probably going to take a long time to take it off, if we want to keep it off.

A sensible weight loss program can help. Support from family and friends is essential. And learning the 6 stages of behavior change-Pre-Contemplation-Contemplation-Preparation-Action-Recycling-and Maintenance can guide us. Most of these 6 steps are self-explanatory. Recycling means that sometimes we just fall off track. This happens to everyone. So it is good to think of it as a natural part of changing behavior-especially a life-long behavior. We just have to pick ourselves up, get back on track, and think positive. Like Tammy!

What a role model!

A further update from Tammy: This summer I am basically maintaining the weight loss. Just got back from a long weekend cruise. Did no buffets. My husband and I never took an elevator, and we worked out in the gym for 1 hour each day between lunch and supper.

All should know I still struggle with all above addictions but am determined to live the rest of my life as healthy as possible-TL.

I wish to thank Tammy LaMothe, RN, Somerset Town Nurse, for sharing this story. The willingness to help others through our own personal experiences is a gift. I hope to continue to offer these stories of your peers, other city and town workers, from Westport to Attleboro, who are part of our Wellness Initiative: Get Healthy Get HIPP!

Julianne Kelly is the municipal employee wellness coordinator for Attleboro, Fall River, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Somerset, Swansea and Westport. She can be reached at jkelly@fallriverma.org, 508.324.2405 or at One Government Center, Fall River, MA 02720.

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Personal Achievements Program Successes Contest Winners

Program Successes

Municipal Employee Wellness Program Promotes Healthy Hearts

In a recent presentation to employees at Fall River City Hall during Heart Month, Donna Querim, Nurse Clinician with Southcoast Cardiac Prevention Program, explained that whereas 1 in 9 women will suffer from breast cancer, 1 in 3 will die from heart disease.

Healthy hearts has been a focus of the new municipal employee wellness program, a state funded initiative, begun last May. The Healthy Initiative Program Partnership (H.I.P.P.) brings together the Health Departments of Fall River, Attleboro, Mansfield, North Attleboro, Somerset, Swansea and Westport to focus attention on municipal employee health and wellness. Besides improving productivity, reducing sick time and increasing morale, wellness programs are known to reduce health costs to companies that sponsor them.

Southcoast Cardiac Prevention Program was an immediate partner in the wellness program, providing cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar screening to city and town departments from Highway and Public Works to Police, Firefighters and City/Town Hall workers. "Know your numbers" is a new mantra of city/town employees as they learn what the numbers mean and how they relate to keeping our hearts healthy.

To keep our hearts healthy we must stay active and watch our weight. High blood pressure and/or high cholesterol might be inherited, as also a tendency to develop diabetes. Huge advances have been made to control these conditions. To do so we need regular check-ups and then follow doctor's orders. (For example medication for hypertension (high blood pressure) must be taken faithfully. The "silent killer" if uncontrolled can cause stroke, kidney failure and other life threatening issues.

Smoking is a major risk factor for heart disease and heart attack. Smoking cessation is a major focus of the municipal employee wellness program, as the program is funded by the Massachusetts Tobacco Control Program. "If the wellness program can help one employee to quit smoking, we have accomplished a great deal," said Julianne Kelly, H.I.P.P. coordinator.

Staging such a prevention initiative requires support from the top-down. Mayor Robert Correia is behind the effort, demonstrating leadership by participating in the screening, welcoming walking programs, the Fall River Fitness Challenge, and Weight Watchers before work and during lunch, creating a friendlier environment for fitness (a "track" around the basement of City Hall has allowed personnel to get some exercise in spite of ice and cruel weather.)

During American Heart Month, City Hall has offered an after-work smoking cessation program, a lecture on preventing risk of heart disease and heart healthy food shopping, blood pressure screening by community health nurses and finally a Healthy Heart Cooking Demonstration by Jessica Williams, R.D. offered during the lunch hours.

More and more companies are striving to improve their employees' health. There is much to gain from both the employer and employee perspective. Wellness Councils of America (WELCOA) reports that 81% of businesses with 50 or more employees have some type of health promotion program. They know it makes sense because it helps prevent or delay disease, improves productivity, improves safety, and cuts or controls cost.

Congratulations are in order for Mayor Correia for having the vision to see the importance of a wellness program for city employees, and for the Town Administrators and Health Agents who have welcomed this opportunity and have begun engaging employees in maintaining their health and wellness.

For more information, call Julianne Kelly, Municipal Employee Wellness Coordinator, H.I.P.P., One Government Center, 4th floor, Fall River MA 02722 or at jkelly@fallriverma.org or 508-324-2405.

Wellness-Mayor Correia Shows It's In The Blood!

Fall River City Hall Municipal Employees follow the lead of Mayor Robert Correia in getting health screenings as part of the new Municipal Employee Wellness Program. Southcoast Hospital Group Cardiac Prevention Program is working with Julianne Kelly, the Municipal Wellness Coordinator for Fall River, to provide cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar testing of employees to establish a baseline for lifestyle improvements that can reduce their health risk.

Screenings have been offered to city and town employees involved in this regional effort, including Somerset, Swansea and Westport. The information helps employees to know their health risks, and encourages them to make small steps to prevent illness and/or poor health.

Worksite wellness is a concept that has grown among corporations across the country as the worksite is where people spend most of their daytime hours and a healthy workforce is a productive workforce. As a regional program, the Municipal Wellness Program brings towns and city together to work on the health and wellness needs of employees. A walking program in Swansea can encourage similar programs in the other municipalities. The Wellness Program will rely on partnerships with local providers, such as Saint Anne's Hospital Smoke Free Program which is offered quarterly, and Weight Watchers which offers an "At Work" program. "This program helps create awareness of programs in the community that employees need, or help make those programs happen.

Mayor Correia sees wellness as a top priority in his administration and takes a personal stand in demonstrating just how important it is.

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Personal Achievements Program Successes Contest Winners

Firefighters Screened for Heart Disease Risk.

• 12.6 Million Americans suffer from Coronary Heart Disease
• 1.1 Million Americans suffer heart attacks each year
• 515,000 heart attacks are fatal
• 44% of all firefighter deaths from 1995-2004 were attributed to heart attack

Sudden cardiac death represents the most common cause of a firefighter fatality. In 2005, the National Fire Protection Association reported 44% of on-duty firefighter fatalities during the ten-year period 1995-2004 were due to sudden cardiac death. These statistics have led to a special effort in Fall River to screen firefighters for blood pressure, blood sugar and total cholesterol-all of which lead to Coronary Heart Disease. "We are working with Southcoast Hospital Group Cardiac Prevention Program to screen as many municipal workers in the Greater Fall River area as possible, but testing firefighters is critical," explained Julianne Kelly, Regional Municipal Employee Wellness Coordinator. "They put their lives on the line for us, we need to make sure that we are looking out for them as well."

There are behaviors and conditions-risk factors- that increase the risk of Coronary Heart Disease, or if unmanaged can worsen the condition for those already diagnosed. The good news is that 6 of these risk factors can be modified. They include

Modifiable

• Cigarette Smoking
• High Blood Pressure
• High Blood Cholesterol
• Overweight or Obesity
• Physical Inactivity
• Diabetes

Factors Not Modifiable

• Age 45 and higher for men
  Age 55 and higher for women
• Age 45 and higher for men Age 55 and higher for women
• Family history of coronary heart disease
• Father/brother diagnosed before 55
• Mother/sister diagnosed before 65
  
  Information from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Southcoast's Cardiac Prevention Program, with Donna Querim, RN and Amanda Szot, RD, Dietitian, were in Fall River, Swansea and Westport through the 2nd and 3rd quarter of 2008 with additional screening dates scheduled for January 2009. Attleboro, N.Attleboro, Mansfield municipalities are scheduled to receive this service in late spring 2009. Firefighters and their families were welcome to participate. Chief Gerald Dore, Training Division, organized the program so that all firefighters will have the opportunity to be tested. Fasting is recommended, though not required. Healthy snacks will be provided.

The key to surviving a heart attack is fast action. It is important to learn the warning signs of heart attack and be prepared to call 911. The warning signs of heart attack include:

• Discomfort or pain in the center of the chest
• Discomfort in the arm(s), back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath
• Breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or light-headedness

The National Volunteer Fire Council through its groundbreaking Heart-Healthy Firefighter Program, launched the National Firefighter Health Week in August 2007. Now a year later, Fall River is joining in this effort to increase awareness of the risk and respond as an employer and community should to ensure the health of its first responders.

Background information:
Risk factors that are not as widely known are the exposure that firefighters have to workplace factors that are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes. A significant portion of the firefighters' workday is spent at rest or doing light work around the fire station. However the station's alarm may sound at any time. The firefighters are expected to rapidly deploy to the incident scene. This results in an increase in their heart rates. This increase frequently persists through the course of the fire suppression activities, which involves heavy physical exertion. For more information check http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2007-133 and http://www.healthy-firefighter.org.

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Personal Achievements Program Successes Contest Winners

Contest Winners

Watch this spot for upcoming contest winners!

Contact H.I.P.P. or the Wellness Contact for your municipality for more information.

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