Armstrong Health Center offering monthly educational program in Kittanning
Published in Senior Living Features
Senior citizens, the disabled and their caregivers who are looking for ways to improve health and prevent injuries can find help through the new "Wellness Wednesday" outreach program in Kittanning.
The programs will be held on the first Wednesday of every month from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Armstrong County Health Center along South McKean Street.
Affinity Health Services of Indiana -- which helps Armstrong County oversee the center's clinical services, financial marketing, administration and admissions -- is behind the planning and organization of the program.
"We want to keep everyone as healthy as possible, especially at this time of year when we worry about folks being cooped up and not getting the exercise they need," said Affinity Marketing Director Kimberly Kelly-Clutter.
The line-up of topics that will be covered in the program includes mental health, disease, fitness, nutrition, independence and living wills. Free blood pressure screenings will be offered at each monthly session.
Wednesday kicks off the first installment and will focus on preventing falls, as well as safety awareness, said Sheri Fitzgerald, a nurse and admissions director at the center.
"We've been blessed as far as the weather until now, but this is when a lot of falls occur," Fitzgerald said.
The center's physical therapy staff will offer tips about maintaining muscle elasticity and how to prevent falls in and outside the home, Kelly-Clutter said.
Armstrong County Health Center Administrator Tom Parsons said the program is a way to let people know that the center is more than an "old folks home." Attending the program does not require preregistration.
For more than 30 years, the nursing home facility has provided care for elderly people and those with chronic health conditions or injuries that require long-term care.
Rehabilitation services are available through the center to people of all ages, Parsons said. Support groups meet there and the snack bar is open to the public for breakfast and lunch, Monday through Saturday.
"The health center has always been part of the community," Parsons said. "We want the community to come in and see what we're all about."
Brigid Beatty is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. She can be reached at 724-543-1303 or bbeatty@tribweb.com.
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