BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro Memorial Hospital offers three self-management workshops this spring to give individuals new tools to deal with chronic health issues and help them live fuller, healthier lives.
Workshops are free and open to the public.
Two of the workshops are offered in collaboration with the Brattleboro Senior Center. The first, Healthier Living, is April 15 to May 20. The second, Healthier Living with Chronic Pain, is June 3 to July 8. Both meet 9:30 a.m. to noon every Tuesday for six weeks at the Gibson-Aiken Center.
The third workshop, the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP), is at Brattleboro Memorial Hospital from 1 to 4 p.m. every Tuesday for eight weeks from May 6 to June 24.
“These programs change lives by giving individuals skills to become active managers of their lives again, even when dealing with difficult situations,” says Terri Kneipp, regional self-management program coordinator on the BMH Community Health Team.
The BMH Community Health Team partners with patients to improve their ability to manage their health conditions and their overall quality of life. The BMH Community Health Team was made possible a few years ago thanks to BMH's participation in the Vermont Blueprint for Health, a state-wide initiative to transform health care delivery and empower patients.
The effort recognizes that improving patient health requires a team approach, improved management of chronic conditions, and increased access to care.
The Community Health Team's services are provided at no cost to patients. The team works with people as long as they are committed to health improvement. Services include help with accessing state and local services and benefits, medication management, care planning, weight loss and nutrition counseling, short-term behavioral health therapy, and diabetes management.
BMH has provided healthcare services for more than 100 years. A licensed, 61-bed, not-for-profit community hospital in southeastern Vermont, it serves a rural population of about 55,000 in 22 towns in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
The medical staff include 137 board-certified physicians - both primary care and many specialists. Its 572 employees leverage the help of more than 110 volunteers.