My Patient Guide
Guiding you every step of the way.
General Health and Medical
HealthEASE was created in New Jersey to coordinate and expand health promotion and disease prevention services for older adults at the local level, with the goal of promoting, supporting and sustaining older adults in living healthier, more independent lives. HealthEASE targets older adults at all levels of the health spectrum, from those experiencing no health issues to those with multiple chronic diseases and physical limitations. HealthEASE includes program coordination, as well as physical activity, health education and coordinated screening components designed specifically for adults over the age of sixty.
Through a three-year grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the HealthEASE model was developed and piloted in two counties: Bergen and Ocean. Following a full year of program development, HealthEASE was implemented and evaluated in the pilot counties for two years. The evaluation demonstrated positive outcomes in the following areas:
- Expanded role of the Area Agency on Aging in health promotion
- Expanded service delivery
- Improved partnerships among provider agencies
- Enhanced information and referral for health promotion
- Health and social engagement benefits for program participants
- Participant commitment to make healthier lifestyle choices
Based on these positive program outcomes, regional training programs were held in 2006 and 2007 to expand the physical activity and health education components to additional counties. Refer to the HealthEASE Guidebook for information on how to establish these programs in your community.
HealthEASE Components:
Related Programs:
Additional Resources:
Move Today
Move Today is a 30-45 minute non-aerobic exercise class designed to improve flexibility, balance and stamina. Participants assess their health, physical well-being and intent to make behavior changes before and upon completion of the program. The exercises and guidelines are based on current nationally recognized standards and science.
Exercises can be done while sitting or standing. Classes are led by trained peer leaders and meet weekly or bi-weekly for twelve sessions. Program features include:
- A brief education component focusing on an exercise-related topic.
- Inexpensive exercise bands to gain maximum effect from resistance exercises.
- A major focus on good posture and falls prevention.
- An exercise intensity scale and a weekly exercise log to track participant activity.
- A self-assessment process for participants to assess their health, physical well-being and intent for behavior change given both before and upon completion of the program.
Professionals with experience leading physical activity programs or health-related programs for older adults are certified as program trainers. Program trainers are provided with comprehensive leader and participant manuals, as well as a DVD for training reinforcement. Lead coordinators, located in 19 of New Jersey’s 21 counties, have the capacity to train new peer leaders to implement the program on an as-needed basis. As noted by one local public health department, Move Today provides a unique opportunity for agencies to engage with one of their key target populations - seniors.
Funding at the local level is minimal - exercise bands cost around $1.00 each and the program requires two bands. Since the program is peer led, the only other actual cost is printing of participant manuals.
Impact: More than half of the participants reported improved overall health after just one 12-class session. Participants cited greater ease in completing posture exercises and significant increases in the number of repetitions of particular exercises. The program had long lasting impact, with most participants indicating they would continue to exercise after completion of Move Today.
- When one woman told her doctor she was going to teach an exercise class, he saw an out-of-shape, overweight senior who was a self-proclaimed couch potato. Today, two years later, she continues to lead the exercises. “I’ve lost 12 pounds and lowered my blood glucose levels. I used to fall frequently, but in the 2 years I’ve been leading the exercise class, I haven’t fallen.”
For more information: contact the Office of Community Education and Wellness, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, 609-292-9152.
Health Education
The education series includes important information on six health promotion topics including nutrition, physical activity, heart disease, memory improvement, osteoporosis and falls prevention, and safe use of medications. The modules can be delivered as separate educational programs or as a series of workshops. The goal of each module is to provide education to promote patient empowerment leading to a healthier lifestyle. Each module includes specific actions that can be taken to improve health as related to the session topic. Each session is approximately one and a half hours in length.
The Health Education modules are “turn-key” in that each includes all of the materials needed to conduct the educational session. The manuals are provided in hard copy and on disk. The sessions are designed to be delivered by health or aging professionals with experience in health education. Individuals who complete a half-day orientation program can teach the HealthEASE Health Education program. Nearly 200 facilitators are available to provide the program in all 21 counties. The six modules are titled:
* Exercise and Getting Fit
* Serving Up Good Nutrition
* Bone Up On Your Health(osteoporosis and falls prevention)
* Be Wise About Your Medications (medication management/substance abuse)
* Keeping Up The Beat(self management techniques for cardiovascular disease)
* Maximizing Memory (maintaining memory/cognitive skills)
Impact: Participants in the health education program demonstrated greater knowledge of the session topic and an increased likelihood of taking positive action steps to improve their health in this area. These positive outcomes were evident for those seniors who attended individual sessions, as well as those who attended the complete education series.
For more information: contact Dot McKnight at 609-943-3573.
Coordinated Screenings
Activities include a variety of health screenings (including vision, hearing, blood pressure, cancer and podiatric), health education (including nutrition, physical activity and falls prevention), and testing (including blood glucose, cholesterol, body mass index, bone density) and immunizations. Protocols are established to refer individuals with abnormal screening results to health care providers.
Through partnership with local health and aging service providers, community-based screening events increase utilization of health promotion and disease prevention services by bringing resources together in one place that is easily accessed by targeted older adult populations. Coordinated screenings encourage partnerships with hospitals, local health departments, health practitioners, private businesses and not-for-profit agencies, senior organizations, and AARP. Religious organizations and municipal agencies often provide facilities for free of charge.
Impact: Screening events increase utilization of preventive health and health promotion services for older adults. On average, organizations hosting coordinated screenings find about one-third of the screenings result in abnormal findings. Individuals with abnormal results are encouraged to follow up with their primary health care provider.
* At one event, a woman was discovered to have a blood glucose level over 400 mmol/l. She was urged to go immediately to the hospital for treatment, but initially refused believing that her inability to pay would prevent her from getting help. The AAA linked her to a health care provider who helped her manage her diabetes.
For more information: contact Dot McKnight at 609-943-3573.
Steps to Living Well: Chronic Disease Self-Management Program for Older Adults
The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program is an evidence-based, six-week course that meets once a week for two hours and is designed to give people with chronic conditions (such as arthritis, heart disease, diabetes, emphysema, asthma, bronchitis, osteoporosis) and/or their caregivers the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to take a more active part in their health care. The program is taught by trained leaders who want to help other people learn to gain control of their conditions.
Participants learn strategies for managing symptoms, working with health care professionals, setting weekly goals, problem-solving, relaxing, handling difficult emotions, eating well, and exercising safely and easily.
The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program was designed to reduce the impact chronic conditions can have on people’s lives and encourages a positive approach to self-management. It is designed to complement, not replace, professional health care services. The CDSMP has been offered successfully throughout the country and worldwide and is known as the gold standard in terms of evidence-based programs. The benefits of the program have been repeatedly demonstrated, including fewer days of hospitalization and reduced number of outpatient doctor visits. CDSMP participants demonstrate significant improvements in physical activity and cognitive symptom management, as well as improved communication with health care providers, self-reported health, fatigue and disability.
For more information: contact Dot McKnight at 609-943-3573.
Project Healthy Bones
This exercise and education program for people with, or at risk of osteoporosis includes exercises that target the body’s larger muscle groups to improve strength, balance and flexibility. The 24-week curriculum includes sessions on the importance of exercise, nutrition, safety, drug therapy and lifestyle factors. The program is peer-led. Lead Coordinators from local health departments, county offices on aging, Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs (RSVPs) and other community-based organizations coordinate the program at the local level and oversee program delivery and training for peer leaders.
Project Healthy Bones began in 1997 and today reaches over 2,000 older adults through nearly 150 programs and a network of over 400 agency staff and volunteer peer leaders statewide. The program is based on research that links strength training exercises to improved bone density in older adults. Hospital-based regional program trainers provide technical assistance and train Lead Coordinators.
Hospital-based regional Program Trainers, through partnerships with local providers, ensure oversight accountability; provide a vehicle for program expansion, and link local providers to hospital-based resources for technical assistance. The program is available on CD-Rom and can be replicated at the local level via agency staff and peer leaders.
Impact: The program has demonstrated improved balance, increased strength, improved nutrition, home falls prevention and increased socialization among participants. In a recent study of 271 participants, 90% of participants completing the class increased the average amount of weight lifted by ¾ to 1 pound, and 68% increased their calcium intake by an average of 500 mg.
Success of the program continues to spread by word of mouth. Currently, local physicians are referring individuals recently diagnosed with osteoporosis directly to the program. Despite lack of state funding, the program has been strengthened and expanded, and program integrity has improved through the efforts of many new community agency partners. The program maximizes partnerships, fosters volunteerism, and makes a real difference in the health and quality of individuals’ lives.
- “I frequently go to New York via the subway. To get up to the street, I used to have to hang onto the handrails for the last flight of stairs. Now, I can go up three flights of stairs much more easily.”
For more information: contact the Office of Community Education and Wellness, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, 609-292-9152.
Live Long, Live Well Walking Program
The Live Long, Live Well Walking Program, a New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services’ wellness initiative, helps state residents age fifty and older to walk their way to better health and improved physical fitness.
Live Long, Live Well participants receive a free walker’s logbook with helpful hints to make walking a safe, fun and beneficial experience. Participants can walk alone, with a friend or with a group, and each walker gradually works up to walking 30 minutes, or the equivalent of two miles per day, four or five days a week. Participants track their progress in the logbook and those who walk regularly for 12 consecutive weeks receive a Live Long, Live Well Walking Program Certificate of Achievement.
Walking is one of the best ways for people of any age to become and stay fit. Participants in the Live Long, Live Well Walking Program can make major strides toward preventing diseases such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
Start taking steps today to become more active, healthy and physically fit!
For more information: contact the Office of Community Education and Wellness, NJ Department of Health and Senior Services, 609-943-3498.
HealthEASE
General
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