Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month

Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) declares May as "National Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month."  May is peak season for most asthma and allergy sufferers and a perfect time to educate your patients, family, friends, co-workers and others about these diseases.

Some great strategies to celebrate this health holiday is to

• ensure your asthma management plan is up to date.
• ensure your childrens' asthma management plan is up to date.
• sign up for your insurance's asthma education and management program
• work with your landlord for your apartment/condo building to adopt and enforce a 100% tobacco free policy.  Call Amy at 588-5019 for assistance.

For more information and resources visit www.AAFA.org, www.aanma.org, Maine Asthma Prevention and Control Program at   

www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/population-health/mat or MaineHealth's Asthma Health AH! Program at www.mainehealth.org/mh_body.cfm?id=364

Lyme Disease Awareness Month

In recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds Americans to learn about this common tickborne disease and take steps to protect themselves if they live in or visit areas with Lyme disease activity.

Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vectorborne illness (or disease transmitted to humans by ticks, mosquitoes or fleas) in the United States, with nearly 30,000 confirmed cases reported in 2009. Between 1992 and 2009, the reported annual number of Lyme disease cases more than tripled. Children are more at risk because they spend more time playing outdoors and in high grass or leaves, where the ticks that spread Lyme disease are found.

Lyme disease is transmitted to people through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks otherwise known as deer ticks. These ticks are most active during May through July, so it's especially important that people living in affected regions take steps now to prevent Lyme disease when they go outside. About 95 percent of reported cases in 2009 were from just 12 states. In descending order of reported cases, they are: Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Delaware, Maine and Virginia.

To prevent Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases, CDC recommends that people:
*  Avoid areas with high grass and leaf litter and walk in the center of trails when hiking.

*  Use repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours. Parents should apply repellent to children; the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends products with up to 30 percent DEET for kids. Always follow product instructions!
*  Use products that contain permethrin to treat clothing and gear, such as boots, pants, socks and tents or look for clothing pre-treated with permethrin.
*  Bathe or shower as soon as possible after coming indoors to wash off and more easily find crawling ticks before they bite you.
*  Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon returning from tick-infested areas. Parents should help children check thoroughly for ticks. Pet owners should check their pets regularly.  Remove any ticks right away.

Typical symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, headache, fatigue, and a large, expanding skin rash that may have a bull's-eye appearance. The rash does not always present.  If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Anyone who develops a fever or a rash after being bitten by a tick or spending time in tick-infested areas should seek prompt medical care. Most patients with Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks' of antibiotics, especially if treated early.

Lyme disease prevention begins with recognizing the risks and taking action. For more information on Lyme disease, please visit www.cdc.gov/Lyme.  

Better Sleep Month

The aim of Better Sleep Month is to encourage people to establish better sleeping patterns.  Adequate and refreshing sleep is as important as a healthy diet and exercise to our overall phyisical, emotional and mental health.  Poor sleep can lead to increased stress hormone production and blood pressure.  Other consequences of inadequate sleep include reduced concentration, mood swings, irritability, narcolepsy, insomnia, restless leg syndrome and sleep apnea.  To learn more visit the Better Sleep Council (BSC) at http://bettersleep.org/

Good Sleep Hygiene 

• Avoid napping during the day; it can disturb the normal pattern of sleep and wakefulness.
• Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol too close to bedtime. While alcohol is well known to speed the onset of sleep, it disrupts sleep in the second half as the body begins to metabolize the alcohol, causing arousal.
• Exercise can promote good sleep. Vigorous exercise should be taken in the morning or late afternoon. A relaxing exercise, like yoga, can be done before bed to help initiate a restful night's sleep.
• Food can be disruptive right before sleep; stay away from large meals close to bedtime. Also dietary changes can cause sleep problems, if someone is struggling with a sleep problem, it's not a good time to start experimenting with spicy dishes. And, remember, chocolate has caffeine.
• Ensure adequate exposure to natural light. This is particularly important for older people who may not venture outside as frequently as children and adults. Light exposure helps maintain a healthy sleep-wake cycle.  
• Establish a regular relaxing bedtime routine. Try to avoid emotionally upsetting conversations and activities before trying to go to sleep. Don't dwell on, or bring your problems to bed.
• Associate your bed with sleep. It's not a good idea to use your bed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read.
• Make sure that the sleep environment is pleasant and relaxing. The bed should be comfortable, the room should not be too hot or cold, or too bright.

Correct Posture Month

The American Chiropractic Association sponsors Correct Posture month each May to encourage people to think about how their posture affects their overall health.  Poor posture can have a negative impact on one's health such as back pain, jaw pain, headaches, muscle and joint strain, arthritis, impair breathing, circulatory and digestive systems.

Advantages of good posture:

• Extra height-up to 3 inches of our natural body height can be lost due to poor posture.
• Fatigue prevention-good posture means the body is using muscles more efficiently.
• Prevention of strains, back ache and muscle pain

To learn more visit the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) at www.acatoday.org/

Employee Health and Fitness Month

Employee Health and Fitness Day - May 16 

The "Zero" in 5210 and

The Toxic Truth About Sugar 

There has been a lot of controversy regarding "sugar" lately.  Regardless of one's personal beliefs about "sugar" and "sugar sweetened" beverages, drinks with added sweeteners are a major source of non-nutritional calories in the American diet.  Sugar is the generalized name for a class of sweet-flavored substances used as food.  There is no nutritional value to sugar, meaning it does not contain vitamins or minerals that support health.  Sugar equivalents go by many names, such as dextrose, glucose, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, galactose, maltose, lactose, and sucrose.

Some simple tips to incorporate "Zero" into your life:

• Avoid sugary drinks such as soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, and juice products labeled "-ade", "drink", "punch".
• Drink Water, it is the most important component of the body.
• Drink low-fat, fat-free milk, or nondairy milks such as almond, soy, rice, or hemp.
• Drink only 100% juice and limit juice consumption to 8 to 12 ounces a day
• Don't drink your calories, save the calories for nutritious foods     

Some research shows that sugar thickens the blood, changes our body's pH and other chemistry markers that may be the leading cause of disease. "Sugars" add calories without nutrition to our diets and can lead to a number of diseases and unhealthy conditions, including the following: 

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Cancer
• Obesity

Resources:

Let's Go 5210

www.letsgo.org/

American Heart Association

www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyDietGoals/Sugars-and-Carbohydrates_UCM_303296_Article.jsp

60 Minutes (April 1, 2012)

Is Sugar Toxic?

www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57407294/is-sugar-toxic/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel

Sugar: the Bitter Truth, Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

Sugar: The Bitter Truth, Transcript and PowerPoint, Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology

www.slideshare.net/guest486771/sugar-the-bitter-truth

60 Minutes Overtime (April 1, 2012)

Sugar and Kids:The Toxic Truth

www.cbsnews.com/8301-504803_162-57407203-10391709/sugar-and-kids-the-toxic-truth/?tag=strip 

Stress Management-Part 3

by Guest Columnist-Sara Dostie

This Month's Question: As my company grows, how do I ensure a healthy culture?

Congratulations for thinking about maintaining a healthy culture as your business grows.  As a business grows, there are a lot of issues on the plate and keeping tabs on the organization's culture is often not one of them.

When it comes to organizational culture, it is important to keep in mind that:

• Culture eats strategy for lunch
• CEOs own the culture
• Organizational culture is strongly connected to financial performance
• Everyone in the organization leads culture
• Even when a culture is not managed and shaped, it still exists and will evolve on its own
• Employee and organizational performance are formed within the context of culture
• Companies with a strong culture perform better, are more resilient and last longer
• The strongest cultures survive because they adapt

Culture is the attitudes, beliefs, values and the written and unwritten rules that set the tone of the organization.  Culture is often simply stated as being "the way things get done around here."  It is the social conditions that drive behavior.  Culture has five dimensions:

1. Shared Values - widely held beliefs
2. Norms - standards for expected and accepted behavior
3. Touch Points - formal and informal policies and procedures - traditions, modeling and rewards
4. Peer Support - assistance provided by coworkers
5. Climate - climate factors consist of social cohesiveness and sense of community, shared vision and a positive outlook

According to a list of the top ten organizational risks CEOs and executives were most concerned about in 2011, corporate culture ranked fourth.  Corporate culture did not even make the risk list in 2008.

Since culture exists and evolves on its own, it is important for executives to keep culture top of mind.  An organization's culture is very difficult to change after the fact, so it is best to shape the culture as your organization grows.  

As your business grows, it is important to keep in mind the type of culture and behaviors you want and to make sure that policies and practices are implemented to support and reinforce these desired behaviors.  Implement policies and practices that enrich these characteristics.  Since CEOs own the culture, it is especially important for the executive team to live and model the desired behaviors.  Executives must walk their talk.

When it comes to organizational culture, it is also important for executives to keep in mind that cultural shifts within an organization take place at three levels:

• The individual
• The work unit or team
• The organization as a whole

Therefore, culture must be assessed and monitored at all three levels and policies and practices must be aligned at all three levels.  Cultural transformation must be a conscious part of your organization's strategies.  Remember that if culture is not addressed, culture will eat strategy for lunch.

Don't worry about over communicating a picture of your desired culture.  While it may feel like you are being redundant, you will not be.  Communicate, communicate and then communicate some more.  Bring the desired culture to life by recognizing and celebrating the successes and behaviors of those employees who get it and demonstrate the desired behaviors.  

As your organization grows, I can easily see how both your wellness and employee wellness can fall off the radar with everything on your plate.  As a member of the executive team, it will be incumbent upon you to keep wellness and health related initiatives on the radar, if not center stage.  If you do, you will be rewarded with a healthy you, healthy employees and a healthy organization.  Remember: health = wealth.

Got a question? Send it to Bill at william.c.mcpeck@maine.gov. Bill McPeck is a health, wellness and safety expert with training as a social worker and personal coach, as well as holding professional certifications in worksite wellness and work-life balance. Bill is currently Director of Employee Health and Safety for Maine State Government. 

Resources:

Tobacco Cessation:

Maine Tobacco Helpline - It is Free - It is Confidential and it Works! 

Website - www.thequitlink.org

Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/QuitLink

Twitter page - http://twitter.com/quitlink

Augusta Police Department,

33 Union Street

Gardiner Police Department,

6 Church Street

Winthrop Police Department, 15 Town Hall Lane

Kennebec Sheriff's Office,

125 State Street, Augusta

Hallowell Police Department is accepting medications to be disposed but the site does not have a drop box.

If you are unable to get to any of these sites to safety dispose your unwanted medications Kennebec Sheriff's Office will pick them up.  For more information call KSO at 623-2270. 

Educational Resources:

Wellness Council of Maine

For a full listing of Wellness Council of Maine training opportunities visit:

www.wellnesscouncilofmaine.org

Contact Willow Sherwood

email: director@wellnesscouncilofmaine.org

Telephone: 207-947-0307

Southern Maine Wellness Council 

For a full listing of Southern Maine Wellness Council training opportunities visit www.mmc.org/lifeline_body.cfm?id=7119

For more information contact Thomas Downing, Director

Lifeline Workplace Wellness Program

Maine Medical Center

Division of Community and Prevention Medicine

Falmouth, ME 04105

P: 207-781-1545

E: downit@mmc.org

W: www.mmc.org/lifelinewellness

SafetyWorks!  can help you prevent work-related injuries, illnesses, and deaths and reduce related costs. Our services are free and confidential and we don't issue fines or citations.

Safety Works! help keep workers safe and healthy. And we help businesses thrive, because you will save 4-6 dollars for every dollar you invest in safety. The old adage is true - it pays to be safe!

SafetyWorks! specializes in practical solutions to help make workplaces safer and healthier.   They want your workplace to be as safe and healthy as possible.   To learn more visit http://safetyworksmaine.com/

Offers individuals with diabetes another option in managing their diabetes without the hassle of transportation issues.  Worksites looking to offer TDES as a benefit or to learn more call Jo-Anne Bushey at 622-7566 extension 223 or visit www.tdes.me  

A FREE online site that offers free nutrition and exercise trackers, recipes, shopping lists, online communities to join, and health information.  Members set goals and can receive online support.  To learn more or join visit www.sparkpeople.com

This FREE online site tracks daily food intake, using MyPlate for Diabetes and non-diabetes, exercise and weight, includes detailed exercise routine, calculates body mass index (BMI) and recommended daily caloric intake based weight, height, weight loss goals, activity levels, etc for FREE.  To learn more or to join visit www.livestrong.com

A FREE online site where members can calculate and record daily food intake and exercise, track weight loss and monitor goals.  To learn more or join visit www.fitday.com

The USDAhas created a tool for tracking food intake, physical activity and balancing the two.  To learn more visit www.choosemyplate.gov 

Heart 360 is a convenient and secure location for you to track and manage your heart health.  Record your health data with Heart 360 online trackers, access additional information and resources on how to be heart healthy, and even share your results with your healthcare provider.  To learn more visit www.heart360.org

Start! is the American Heart Association's program to get Americans walking to improve heart health. To learn more visit startwalkingnow.org

America On the Move (AOM) is an evidence-based nonprofit dedicated to help you take small steps and make small lifestyle changes for a healthier way of life.  This site contains health information, eating, walking, healthy lifestyle tracking programs and health assessments.  To learn more visit www.americaonthemove.org

Many of the sites I work with are promoting Couch to 5K, a beginner's running schedule has helped thousands of new runners get off the couch and onto the roads, running 3 miles in just two months.  To learn more visit www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

This free resource lets you track the food you eat and the exercise you participate in on their website or with free mobile apps: www.myfitnesspal.com

Learn more about portion size, balanced meals, and get healthy eating tips at www.choosemyplate.gov

OA is a twelve step program for people with problems related to food.  To learn more or to find a meeting near you visit www.oa.org

Healthy Maine Walks  www.healthymainewalks.org

Move More  www.movemore.org

Healthy Communities of the Capital Area  www.healthycommunitiesme.org

Maine Trail Finder www.mainetrailfinder.com

Maine State Parks Trails  www.trails.com/state-park-trails.aspx?keyword=state%20park&state=ME

Kennebec Land Trust  www.tklt.org

Kennebec River Rail Trail  www.krrt.org

Viles Arboretum  www.vilesarboretum.org

Trails  www.trails.com

Does Someone You Know Have an Opioid Addiction?

Free monthly meetings to learn about addiction, medication-assisted treatment and recovery 

Meetings are held the third Tuesday at noon at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 69 Winthrop Street.  For more information call Jayne Harper at  621-3740 or Helen Pare at 266-8881

Meetings are at 12:30 pm at the Eskelund Center at the Maine Children's Home, 93 Silver Street, Waterville,  for more information call Jayne Harper at 621-3740 or Brenda Radel at 872-7272 

Sponsored by the Maine Recovery Communities Coalition.  All Recovery Support Meetings welcome people from every addiction recovery pathway.  Meetings are free of charge.

When:  Thursdays

Where: Green Street Methodist Church, 14 Green Street, Augusta

For more information call Deb Dettor at 458-4366 or Peter Wohl at 626-3448

Find a Meeting Near You:

To find Alcohol Anonymous, Al Anon, Cocaine Anonymous, Co Anon, Narcotics Anonymous and Narcotics Anon meetings near your visit www.usrecovery.info/AA/Maine.htm

Find out how you can take advantage of low cost mediation and conflict coaching services. Mediation Services is a  program of Volunteers of America Northern New England. Please contact Nancy Markowitz, Program Director at (207) 373-1140 ext 229, mediate@voanne.org or www.voanne.org

430-8334 or www.mcedv.org.

1-800-799-SAFE, 1-866-834-4357 

www.familyviolenceproject.org or call 623-8637. 

The Augusta Crisis Line

Hardy Girls, Healthy Women www.hardygirlshealthywomen.org

Silent No More www.silentnomore.org

The Grandest Parents of All

A support group and series of workshops for grandparents and other relatives raising young children.  Meetings are held the third Thursday each month, 5-7 pm at Educare, 56 Drummond Ave, Waterville, for more information call Samantha Thibodeau at 626-3497

Health Risk Assessment Resource:

KeepMEWell

To take the free, easy, private health risk assessment visit www.keepmewell.org

The goals of KeepMeWell are to assist Maine adult residents to:

* Assess their risk for chronic disease

* Receive feedback that promotes action to address identified health risks

* Link to local community resources that assist residents in taking action to lower their risk for disease and improve their health

* Link uninsured and underinsured residents to healthcare services at no cost or slide scale cost

KeepMEWell is a free public service offered by the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC), Maine Department of Health and Human Services.  No personal information about individuals will be collected.  Only the individual will decide what to do with their personal results.  To participate fully, you will need a computer, internet access and a printer.

One great use of the personal results report is to use it as a conversation starter with your primary healthcare provider to develop a personal health plan with personal goals to address your health concerns.

 Still looking for a resource check out 211

Call 211 or go online at www.211maine.org

Call Today

Get your

Healthy Maine Works

Account

Check out this fun video

Inspiring Exercise

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo

Maine Farm to School Network Conference

May 12, 2012

Mt View High School

577 Mount View Road

Thorndike, ME 04986

8:30am-4:00pm

Cost $20 or $15 if you agree to volunteer for 1 hour

lunch is included

To learn more contact:

Ken Morse

Maine Farm to School Network

ken@healthyoxfordhills.org

or call

207-393-0134

Workshop Tracks:

School Gardens

Food and Farm Curricula

Food Service-Local Purchases

Community Supports

Policy

To register click below:

farm to school conference

Farmers Markets

Augusta:

Farmer's Market at Mill Park

1 North Water Street, the old Edwards Mills site

May-November

Tuesdays 2-6pm

www.farmersmarketmillpark.org

Augusta Farmers Market 

Turnpike Mall

 Western Ave/Whitten Road 

June-October

Wednesdays and Saturdays

9am-12pm (noon)

Viles Arboretum Farmers Market

153 Hospital Street

May-November

Fridays 2-6pm

Gardiner:

Gardiner's Farmers Market 

On the Commons

Route 201

May-October

Wednesdays 2-6pm

Hallowell:

Hallowell Market Day

at the foot of Winthrop Street on Water Street (Route 201)

May to October

Sundays 11am-3pm

 Manchester

 Mayflower Farmers Market

Route 17, next to Post office at the big red barn

May-November

Wednesdays 3-6pm

Saturday 10am-2pm 

Wayne 

 Wayne's Farmers Market

Bridge Street, in the park between the mill stream and the general store

July-September

Sunday Mornings

Winthrop

Winthrop Farmers Market

Location: TBD

May-October

Tuesdays and Saturdays 9am-1pm 

Other Options: 

Our Board of Directors 

Mary Frances Bartlett

Rebecca West Dick

Dick Dyer

Rob Gordon, Treasurer

Patricia Hopkins

Kala Ladenheim

William McPeck, Vice Chair

Emilie van Eeghen

Frederick A. White, PhD

Jim Wood, Chair

Mark Yerrick, Secretary

Our Towns

Augusta

Chelsea

Farmingdale

Fayette

Gardiner

Hallowell

Litchfield

Manchester

Monmouth

Mount Vernon

Pittston

Randolph

Readfield

Richmond

Vienna

Wayne

HCCA has FREE signs: metal, corrugated plastic, window clings and laminated, Call Amy at 588-5019