An Ounce of Prevention

North Bay health care facilities are increasingly focusing on prevention and wellness.

For most of us, a trip to the hospital is an unwelcome and often-unexpected experience brought on by a bad case of pneumonia, a child’s broken bone or worse—complicated surgeries trying to reverse or slow the effects of disease. However, a new picture of the hospital’s role in people’s everyday lives has emerged in the last few years. It’s being led by health care providers who believe that, by offering an array of preventive programs now, they can improve the quality of life for those in their communities. Today, taking a trip to your local hospital may mean you’re heading to belly dancing lessons, a cooking class or to get a massage. In other words, staying healthy is looking a lot more fun.

Memorial Hospital’s Life Learning Center

Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital is part of the St. Joseph Health System, which also operates Petaluma Valley Hospital in Petaluma, Queen of the Valley Medical Center in Napa and several urgent care, outpatient and hospice services in the North Bay. An emphasis on preventive care is built into many of the hospital’s programs and procedures. In addition, Memorial operates the Life Learning Center, an educational outreach facility that holds community classes at its site across Montgomery Drive from the main hospital in Santa Rosa. Most of these classes are free for St. Joseph’s employees and volunteers and collect a small fee from community users.

The scope of its education curriculum may come as a surprise. Recent offerings include yoga and Pilates classes, each offered twice per week, and instruction in touch therapy, nutrition and improving balance. Other classes help participants be more effective in the workplace, such as “Presenting with Confidence” and “The Art of Communicating Effectively under Stress.” These teach users techniques to better manage the pressures they face in their day-to-day lives. A landscape architect offers hands-on lessons in the hospital’s Healing Garden, which are free to employees and the public (See Green Scene, “Modern Medicine and the Healing Power of Nature”). Another free course, offered during the winter holidays and titled “Spiritual Enrichment and Giving Thanks,” helped participants regain emotional balance and gratitude in their lives. The schedule even includes training in computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

A hospital offering career training and gardening advice? It makes perfect sense when you look at Memorial’s overall mission in the community. The Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, whose role in providing health care in Northern California began nearly 100 years ago, consider each of their medical facilities a “ministry” charged with tending to the needs of the whole person—body, mind and spirit. This translates into a commitment to create programs that address the fundamental need for human beings to feel healthy, respected and connected to the larger community.

Queen of the Valley Wellness Center

Another example of St. Joseph Health System’s commitment to community well-being is the new Queen of the Valley Wellness Center in Napa. Located on the grounds of the Queen of the Valley Medical Center, the Wellness Center combines resources for prevention, wellness, chronic disease management, rehabilitation programs, women’s services, personal and group fitness programs under one roof. The beautifully appointed, 60,000-square-foot facility opened in July 2006 and has already become a vital community hub.

In addition to the state-of-the-art fitness equipment available to users, more than 160 fitness classes are offered each week. Whether you’re looking to begin an exercise regimen with tai chi, Pilates or gentle stretching, or to kick your routine up a notch with a “Boot Camp,” “Core Blast” or “Spin-ergy” class, there are fitness options for every age and activity level. The center has separate indoor lap and therapy pools offering a full schedule of aquatic programs. The lap pool also has set hours for open and family swims, swimming lessons and a youth swim team. Massage therapy, healthy cooking classes and esthetician services are even available onsite.

Currently, the Wellness Center has more than 6,400 public and clinical members. Many users choose to purchase memberships to take advantage of the full range of services provided, but those interested in trying out the facilities can purchase short-term guest passes. Special senior and corporate rates are available. Additionally, someone with arthritis or joint problems wishing to use only the warm water therapy pool can purchase a prepaid punch card for a specified number of visits.

Elizabeth Glenn-Bottari, vice president and chief operating officer of integrative health for the 15-hostpital St. Joseph Health System, believes that hospitals providing care for both the treatment and prevention of disease makes perfect sense. “We really aspire to educate the community we serve about how to care for themselves to prevent disease and maintain well-being," she says. “Typically, hospitals are just where sick people come. Now imagine a world where hospitals become the core of where healthy people go to maintain their health.”

The Wellness Center emphasizes “medical fitness,” which combines physical training, nutrition education and lifestyle modification to help people reach their optimal health, not just a particular weight or dress size. “We have to change our language,” stresses Glenn-Bottari. “Yes, we should know our metrics. But also: Do you feel comfortable? Can you go up a flight of stairs without being short of breath? Are you comfortable doing the things you want to do?” These quality of life issues, she says, are critical in motivating people to make lasting changes.

The Wellness Center is currently the largest facility of its kind within the St. Joseph Health System, but it’s not the only one. The organization’s goal is to further expand programs, so that all of its ministries have access to similar types of resources. For now, Napa’s center acts as a nationally respected model of the role that today’s hospitals can play in supporting wellness.

Northern California Center for Well-Being

The Northern California Center for Well-Being (NCCWB) is an independent, nonprofit health education and wellness center located in Santa Rosa. The center works in collaboration with several health care providers in the area, including Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation, St. Joseph Health System and Kaiser Permanente, but services are available to anyone in the community. Opened in 1996, NCCWB has a strong emphasis on offering cardiac disease prevention and rehabilitation, diabetes services and childhood health and nutrition services. Some users come to NCCWB through a health care provider’s referral to deal with existing conditions, but others can also take advantage of the center’s classes, facility and knowledgeable staff. “We’re providing each participant with self-care tools to prevent or better manage their chronic disease,” says Alena Wall, executive director of NCCWB.

The center, which serves about 4,000 people each year with programs in English and Spanish, strongly encourages a holistic approach to health. Participants are urged to take control of their nutrition, physical exercise and stress levels as a complement to any existing medical care plan. Community members can access a diverse schedule of exercise classes, such as “Beginning Strength Training,” “Balance and Fall Prevention” and “Gentle Yoga.” Classes like “Lifetime Fitness” and “Moving through Pain” are available for those who need more support to begin an exercise routine. A primordial sound meditation class teaches relaxation and stress management, though Wall points out that all of the center’s exercise programs can be considered healthy stress relievers. The class fees are based on a sliding scale and some preventive classes, including yoga (which emphasize the mind-body connection), are even covered by certain insurance policies.

The NCCWB is working with Santa Rosa’s G&G Supermarket to offer a series of “Healthy Cooking” classes to the public. Held at the Ginger Grille, the modern demonstration kitchen within G&G’s Santa Rosa location, the classes are led by one of the center’s dieticians and focus on sharing recipes that are healthy, flavorful and accessible to the home cook. Recent programs have included “Healthy Winter Soups,” “Gluten-free Cooking,” “Toddler Food Made Easy” and “Cooking Well for Diabetes.” There’s a fee to participants, but tasting the results is included and encouraged.

Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Medical Center operates differently than other hospitals in the area, because it runs on a uniquely integrated, membership-based system. Because of this, people may not be aware of how many of its preventive services are available to the general public as well as members. Kaiser’s model of integration, empowerment and prevention has proved to be not only good for business, but also for the long-term health of its members and the larger community it serves.

Every year, the medical center releases its extensive Healthy Living Catalog, detailing the courses available to members and the public. This year’s catalog offers classes addressing a wide range of physical, mental and emotional challenges. Those looking for physical fitness options will find ongoing low-impact aerobics and yoga courses, as well as classes on weight management and emotional eating. For women, there are special sessions on coping with menopause and preventing osteoporosis. For older adults, there are classes on hearing loss, memory loss and fall prevention. Kaiser even offers a recurring session on drafting an advanced health care directive, which is put on by a panel of doctors and local lawyers and is free to the public.

There’s also a surprising array of offerings that address not just a participant’s physical health, but also his or her emotional well-being. Classes in managing anger, understanding anxiety and practicing forgiveness offer students the chance to learn healthy coping strategies. A course on communication for couples teaches positive problem-solving techniques. A 10-week series called “Parent Project” offers advice and support to parents of combative teens.

Nearly 60 percent of the more than 260,000 Kaiser members in Marin and Sonoma counties access Kaiser online to make appointments, communicate with their doctors or check lab results. It’s no surprise, then, that Kaiser has also compiled an extensive collection of online educational materials, most of which are available to everybody. Those dealing with issues such as back pain, depression or headaches can watch online videos that offer coping strategies and general information. Users can listen to a tutorial on guided imagery by Jack Kornfield, founder of Spirit Rock Meditation Center, or listen to a dietician’s podcast about healthy eating. Kaiser even has links to its own radio stations, offering changing playlists for working out or relaxation.

Dr. Kirk Pappas, physician-in-chief for Kaiser in Santa Rosa and Rohnert Park, is a strong proponent of making preventive care available to the public in a variety of ways. “I want people to think of health care as a partner in producing a long, healthy life,” he says. “We’ll partner with you the whole way, and in whatever way you desire—in person, over the phone, online or in a class.” Pappas, an avid runner who specializes in physical medicine and rehabilitation, is even dispensing health tips himself via Twitter (http://twitter.com/rundocrun).

Pappas, who received his own childhood care through Kaiser and has now worked for the organization for 18 years, believes if hospitals use their time and resources now to encourage healthy habits, they can affect a patient’s health for a lifetime. “We can improve people’s ability to involve themselves in well-care before they develop a chronic disease,” he says. “That’s really where we need to emphasize our future work.” By simply suggesting a class, asking about physical activity levels or pointing them toward Kaiser’s onsite farmer’s market, health care providers can begin positive conversations that make a profound impact on their patients’ physical health and quality of life.

Group support

Whether you’re trying to establish an exercise routine, rid yourself of unhealthy habits or just learn some new skills, an important benefit of heading to a hospital or wellness center is the sense of community to be found with others who share similar goals. “Being in a group setting is critical, because people get to hear from their peers about what’s been difficult in reaching their goals,” says Wall. “They gain ideas about what’s working from people who are focused on the same issue. They feel less isolated and hopefully more connected and supported around their self-management.”

Glenn-Bottari says she sees the positive effects of group support every day. The Queen of the Valley Wellness Center is drawing whole families together, with Grandma heading to water aerobics, Mom to a spin class, Dad to a pick-up basketball game and the kids to swim club or to play in the supervised nursery. “I can’t say enough about that,” she says. “When you meet someone you know, you have someone to exercise with and the friends and families come together. It’s very powerful. This is about a community truly committing to health.” The center even coordinates walking, hiking and cycling groups to encourage this type of community interaction.

Employee wellness

Business owners looking to improve the health and well-being of their employees may also want to consider whether their local hospitals have resources to help them. Sutter Medical Center’s “Live Well for Life” campaign, originally begun in 2001 as an internal program to bring wellness training to Sutter employees, is now being extended to local businesses. Following a confidential health risk assessment of participating company employees, Sutter’s wellness coaches offer relevant services, such as physical therapy training to combat high back injury rates or nutrition education to prevent diabetes.

In another example, Memorial funds a workforce health initiative that partners with employers to identify likely health risks, create customized action plans and make necessary medical resources available to employees. These types of programs, now available through many hospitals and wellness centers, can help business owners cut down on absenteeism, injuries and overall medical costs while increasing employees’ well being and productivity. They also help employees by giving them the medical and peer support they need to change unhealthy behaviors and do their jobs more safely and effectively.

Back to basics

With rates of obesity and preventable disease on the rise in the United States, wellness programs like these are becoming more critical than ever. As a doctor, Pappas is eager to introduce these tools to the community. “If I can help people lead longer, healthier and happier lives, then I’ll have been successful,” he says. “I want to be measured by how well I did in prevention and collaborating with patients, not in how many procedures I did.”

Glenn-Bottari believes the future of health care lies in getting back to the fundamentals of healthy living. “There’s a movement across the country that knows it’s not just about caring for the sick, it’s also about how we keep people healthy,” she says. “We need to get back to the basics of manaing stress, of being happy, of having fun every day and taking time with our food.” Glenn-Bottari, who’s been with St. Joseph’s since 1999, is thrilled to see the health care field increasingly focus on preventive care. “It’s really a philosophical, meaningful undertaking, and I couldn’t be more proud that SJHS is taking a leadership role in changing the health care model,” she says. “Our key focus is on accountable health, behavioral economics and, therefore, cost avoidance—health care reform!”

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