St. Francis Hospital | Life & Health | Fall 2018

START LIVING HEALTHIER TODAY! For more information about Healthy Lifestyles or Commit to be Fit, call the Community Relations and Development office at SSM Health St. Francis Hospital. Martha Mustion, Family Nurse Practitioner After: And this is Lana Cease after participating in Commit to be Fit program. Before: Lana Cease is just one of the 60 Commit to be Fit participants over the last two years who have seen success. —continued from front page nurse practitioner, Martha Mustion, uses a metabolic rate analyzer which measures what a person’s resting metabolic rate is. The analyzer re- cords the amount of oxygen a patient breathes in and the amount that is exhaled then calculates metabolic rate or basic calorie needs. The amount of work performed and sleep habits are also used to determine basic calories needed to maintain weight. Once a goal is determined, the number of calories required to reach a weekly weight-loss expectation is calculated. Lifestyle changes “We add in ex- ercise,” Mustion explains. “The kind of exercise people do. It could be walking or whatever fits their exercise abilities based on health concerns. The additional calories for the exercise can be added to the daily amount of calories they can have—if they want.” “Healthy Lifestyles was started to treat hypertension, diabetes, hyperlip- idemia, and those sorts of conditions,” says Mustion. “Weight management is the first line of treatment for those disease processes.” Weekly sessions with Gina Mackey, Healthy Lifestyles nurse, keep patients on track. These hours are logged as part of the hospital’s community health edu- cation services. Gina not only weighs the patient during the weekly visit but also reviews calorie intake and exercise and discusses struggles and successes. Lifestyle changes are the ultimate goal of the Healthy Lifestyle program. “It is not the quick easy fix—it’s not a pill,” Mustion emphasizes. “It Wellness works is individualized based on what a person needs with ongoing monitoring and counseling.” Making the commitment The second wellness program initiated in January 2017 has similar compo- nents to Healthy Lifestyles, but Commit to be Fit takes group participation and physical activity to new levels. According to Jackie Ross, RN, Com- mit to be Fit champion, “Keys are par- ticipation and involvement with other participants. The ones who do the best come to our Saturday morning exercise session almost without fail.” “The exercise component is the difference between Healthy Lifestyles and Commit to be Fit,” Ross says. “We encourage more exercise. We follow the American College of Sports Medicine’s recommendation that adults should be getting 30 minutes a day, five times a week, of moderate to vigorous aerobic activity. That can be anything that can get your heart rate up. We help par- ticipants explore options and find the exercise that best suits each partici- pant’s needs.” Another difference between the two programs is that Commit to be Fit is not covered by insurance. The fee provides a financial investment for participants as a “stake in the game.” However, the lab work, metabolic rate analyzer checks, counseling sessions, activity tracker, exercise sessions, access to personal trainer, nurse and nutritionist have been valued at over $3,000. “Body fat measurement is also taken throughout the program,” Ross contin- ues. “Over the past two years, 60 participants have lost over 600 inches and over 400 percentage points of body fat, along with 1,300 pounds.” According to Ross, participants need to see they are ready for a change. “If you want your life to be different than it is, you have to do something different— you have to work at it.” 2 Life and HEALTH