Community Health

A-Ok with HHC is a program designed to meet the underserved members of our community where they are.

A-ok consists of a blood pressure screening, along with an Hgb A1c test to screen for the possibility of diabetes. During testing, participants will be given education regarding high blood pressure and the importance of keeping their blood pressure in the “normal” range as well as information on A1c, what it means, and how to keep their number low. Participants will be given information about Primary Care Physicians (PCPs) as well as Urgent Care if needed. Every participant is given a brief health history questionnaire that includes questions such as: current medications, family history of cardiovascular disease or diabetes, if they themselves have ever been told they are a diabetic or have high blood pressure, and information about any recent Emergency Room visits.

According to the American Diabetes Association, in 2018, 34.2 million American’s had diabetes and of those, 7.3 million were undiagnosed. Many remain undiagnosed due to lack of regular medical care. HHC is looking to close that loop and meet our underserved community members in places like soup kitchens, mobile health fairs, mobile food pantries, homeless shelters, and brick and mortar food pantries. These free screenings will be provided in areas the participants are already utilizing and are comfortable with. The goal will be to provide testing that can help inform participants on their current health status and ultimately connect them to resources such as primary care if needed.

On the road with Neighborhood Health

Students from the University of St. Joseph in West Harford offered nutritional advice during the health fair.

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Melvin Twitty gets his blood pressure checked by Roslyn Williams, a patient care technician for Hartford HealthCare Neighborhood Health, during a health fair Monday in Norwich.

Hartford HealthCare's Neighborhood Health program brought its services to the Norwich AHEPA 110 Senior Apartments Monday, Jan. 31, for a health fair to benefit residents of the apartments.

 A number of screenings including blood pressure were offered and representatives from rehab services and vaccines were in attendance as well. Students from the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford also partnered with HHC and provided nutritional advice to the residents.

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What started as an idea for a fun way to bring healthy, nutritious information to communities in eastern Connecticut came to fruition Wednesday, June 1, when the Hartford HealthCare East Region Community Health team brought their inaugural "blender bike" to the Elisha Brook Senior Living complex in Franklin.

Working with a team of enthusiastic Norwich Tech students, juniors Will Gifford, David Clang and Hunter Frechette, the Community Health team — under the direction of East Region Manager Joe Zuzel, Community Health nurse Michele Brezniak, BSN, RN, and Backus Community Dietitian Shannon Haynes — spun the idea for the bike and the students put the pedal to the metal and came up with a modified exercise bike complete with a working blender and new paint job.

Gen Schies, Backus Development program manager, was able to provide needed funding for extra parts and other necessities.

The bike, which will hit the road this summer and be used at other Community Health events, was demonstrated by East Region Vice President of Operations Matt Kaufman who brought along an extra pair of sneakers for the event. And dietitian Shannon Haynes spoke about all of the healthy options for making smoothies and hummus using plenty of natural ingredients low in carbs as she stuffed the blender with fruit, yogurt and other treats.

Several residents for Elisha Brook were on hand for the demonstration and although they declined to ride the bike they did benefit from some well-blended, nutritious snacks courtesy of Mr. Kaufman's foot power and the Norwich Tech student's mechanical skills.

Community Health and Backus Nutrition departments are partnering with the Pawcatuck Neighborhood Center Emergency Food Pantry to create disease-specific food boxes (cardiac, diabetes and dialysis).

Dieticians from Windham and Backus train volunteers at the food pantry in how to create food boxes and label food pantry for health conditions.

All participants receive diet “tip cards” that list optimal foods for their health condition and health-related numbers. HHC provides health education, recipes as well as upcoming events for distribution to PNC patrons.

Diet Tip Cards:
Renal / Dialysis
Heart Healthy
Diabetes

Healthy Cooking class for cardiology patients in Mystic during National Heart Month.

Barbara Kil had never tasted sunflower seeds. “Aren’t they for the birds?” she asked Backus Hospital Executive Chef Scott Mickleson.

Mickleson was in the process of adding sunflower seeds to his overnight oats during a Healthy Cooking class at Coogan Farm in Mystic. He paused and shook out a few seeds into Barbara’s palm. “Try them,” he said. “They are really good, and good for you.”

Kil and her husband Jerry along with Jim Seaton were all in attendance at the East Region’s first free healthy cooking class for area cardiology patients. The Kils see Dr. Adam Niedelman and Seaton is a patient of Dr. Michael Fucci’s. The class was organized by the East Region Community Health department and utilizes the cooking expertise of Mickleson with the nutritional expertise of a staff registered dietitian. For these classes, registered dietitian Alexis Irvine attends.

The program is much more than a simple cooking class. Dietitians also join, and provide information on nutrition (both general and diagnosis-specific), as well as tips for efficient and cost-effective grocery shopping, why it’s better to eat at home than grab takeout, why family mealtimes are important, and even what types of tools are needed to be able to make home-cooked meals.

In November, a free Healthy Cooking program was launched in partnership with CLiCK (Commercially Licensed Co-Operative Kitchen) in Windham. George Zern, Director of Food and Nutrition Services at Windham Hospital, taught four classes to people diagnosed with diabetes, providing healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack menus, recipes and techniques.

Barbara said they signed up for the class after seeing a flier in Niedelman’s office. “We need to be doing something to eat more healthily,” she said. “We have terrible eating habits.” Seaton said he was there because since his wife passed away two years ago, he has not done a good job of cooking good meals for himself.

While Mickleson demonstrated preparing overnight oats and avocado toast with hard boiled eggs, Irvine explained the nutritional value of what was being prepared - whole grains and soluble fiber is good for managing cholesterol, for example, and healthy fats like avocados versus unhealthy fats found in processed foods. She reviewed food packaging labels and gave the students tips for smart grocery shopping.

Upcoming classes will include salmon on a citrus couscous salad and pork tenderloin with pumpkin, bitter green salad and mushroom-lentil salad, Mickleson said.

The three attendees sampled both dishes as well. “I’ve never had avocado toast, either,” Barbara said. “I would definitely make that.”