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Hospital’s ‘Healthy for Life’
series aimed at providing community education, support
Convenient access to medical care is an obvious benefit
that comes to mind when you consider the advantages of having a hospital
located in or near your community. But a hospital brings more to its
surrounding communities than the obvious.
Just as a university brings entertainment and sports to
an area in addition to academic offerings, a hospital’s resources run
deeper than acute medical care.
Community education programs, support groups,
educational resources for students, and perhaps one of the most popular and
rewarding outreach opportunities – field trips for young children
– are also available.
These community benefits can add significantly to the
quality of life for those so inclined to take advantage of them.
Last year, 600 people attended the programs of our
Healthy for Life Community Education series. That doesn’t include the
number of young families attending the Childbirth Education programs
provided by the nurses of our Women’s Health Center, or patients who
took advantage of our Diabetes Outpatient Education programs, or the PACE
(People with Arthritis Can Exercise) program offered through the Physical
& Occupational Therapy Department.
This year’s Healthy for
Life calendar has been established by our Nursing Education Department but
we’re open to suggestions, even for the coming year if we can
accommodate them. So give me a call if you’ve got a subject in mind
and it’s not on our calendar. If we can’t add it this year, we
can try to add it for 2008.
Our Support Groups
are another community benefit and I encourage you to take advantage of them
as a way of learning about and sharing experiences regarding a specific
illness. As with the Calendar, we are open to suggestions for new groups.
While our calendar may be a little more serious than one
offered by a college, it’s still got some pretty cool stuff to check
out. For more information about these programs and to register, call me at 401-348-2300 ext. 11 or, from CT,
800-933-5960 ext. 3423.
David Tranchida is the Manager of Public Relations and Marketing at The
Westerly Hospital
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© Copyright 2000 The
Westerly Hospital, All Rights Reserved
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