Bow Valley Primary Care Network (PCN) is hoping to reduce the amount of people using healthcare, and to keep relatively healthy people out of hospitals, by helping them manage their own condition through safe and efficient exercise.
Physical activity can reduce and prevent the occurrence of conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depression and some cancers.
Bow Valley Primary Care Network (PCN) offers a program designed to help people who are affected, or potentially affected, by conditions that can be significantly improved or prevented through physical activity.
“The idea is to help people understand that exercise is as good as some medicines and certainly can help treat illness or chronic conditions or maybe even prevent getting worse or new ones,” said Shayla Roberts, an active living consultant with Bow Valley PCN.
To participate in the program your doctor must refer you. The program runs for eight to 12 weeks, Monday through Thursday, and consists of supervised exercise sessions three times a week and an education session once a week on Wednesdays.
“It’s designed to help them stay healthy and be healthy, but also it’s not limited,” said Roberts. “You don’t have to be a senior, you don’t have to have a specific condition, it just needs to be something that exercise would improve.”
When an individual starts the program they begin with an intake appointment.
“We assess their goals, assess their current fitness,” said Roberts. “We get some kind of referral from their doctor saying what sort of things we should be working on or if they have health history that might compromise their ability to exercise.”
At the end of the eight or 12-week session, another assessment is completed and the individual is set up with an exercise program to follow on their own.
Once you have completed the exercise program and are working out on your own, you can return once a week for support or assistance.
“That keeps people accountable and motivated, because they know someone’s checking up on them,” said Roberts. “They can ask questions and it makes it feel less like a big leap, because some people would have maybe never exercised. Then you’re expecting them to be fully self reliant in eight weeks and that may be a bit of a jump. But if you have some kind of health condition, it’s nice to know you’re doing things that are important for you and not going to make anything worse.”
You can be referred back into the program for a new health issue if needed. For example, a patient attended the program prior to a knee surgery and then returned to the program again after completing physiotherapy following the surgery.
Bow Valley PCN runs the Active Living Program in Banff at the Fenlands Recreation Centre and in Canmore, at the Canmore General Hospital.
Bow Valley PCN also offers open classes such as Making Friends with Your Grumpy Back or Posture and Core Basics. You must register for these classes, but no doctor referral is required.
For more information visit www.bowvalleypcn.ca, e-mail [email protected] or call Bow Valley Primary Care Network at 403-675-3000.
