Hello! My name is Osiris Salgado. As many of you already know, I am the new case manager at MSQLP.
Last December, I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Collaborative Health and Human Services with an emphasis in social work. As a graduate from the CHHS program at California State Monterey Bay, I have a strong passion to empower individuals who often are underrepresented and underserved in my community. So far, my professional skills have been developed through the extensive studies of my undergraduate degree and during my internship at MSQLP during the Fall 2012 through Fall 2013 semesters. During my time as an intern at MSQLP, I was able to grow as a professional with the guidance of my supervisors, and MSQLP staff, Andrea and Grant.
How quickly time flies! Presently, I am a new employee at MSQLP! As a case manager at MSQLP, I am committed to working closely with our local health care organizations, neighboring social service agencies, and the various MS and Parkinson's disease organizations to advocate and raise awareness of the realities of living with the chronic illnesses known as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. Education and learning will be a life-long journey for me. Soon this journey will continue with my pursuit of a Masters of Social Work degree. I hope to apply for the Master's program at California State University Monterey Bay a year from now. I am very grateful to have been given this opportunity and I am looking forward to meeting and working with all of you throughout the year!
Warm regards,
Osiris Salgado
Case Manager
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Upcoming Events
(click orange text for flyer)
Never Stop Moving Wellness Series
Did you attend our Never Stop Moving Wellness Workshops?
We are interested in hearing your thoughts about the effectiveness of these workshops. Please fill out this short program evaluation to help us insure that next year we improve upon this year's results!
Click here for the program evaluation for Postural Therapy.
Click here for the program evaluation for Adaptive Pilates.
Click here for the program evaluation for Yoga and Meditation.
Preview all of the wellness series pictures on our Facebook page by clicking here!
Sponsored by Biogen Idec.
Support Groups
MSQLP's Salinas MS Support Group
11AM-1PM
Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital
Cislini Conference Room #1
MSQLP's Monterey MS Support Group
Saturday, October 18th
11AM-1PM
MSQLP Office
519B Hartnell St. Monterey, 93940
MSQLP's Family Caregiver Support Group
Meets next month in November
Water Aerobics
Mondays & Wednesdays
12-1pm @ Monterey Sports Center
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Never Stop Moving Wellness Workshop: Adaptive Yoga and Meditation
By Melissa Bowling- MSQLP Intern
Namaste! Namaste is a traditional greeting, meaning, "I bow to you" or "I see you," used when beginning, and often ending, yoga and meditation. Yoga and meditation are types of mind-body therapies that have been proven to be helpful treatments for individuals with MS. Yoga, which integrates meditation, is a spiritual, mental, and physical practice developed thousands of years ago to transform body and mind. It has been recorded that people with MS who partake in yoga are significantly less likely to suffer from fatigue and stress.
Meditation has also been practiced for thousands of years and has become very popular in healthcare settings as a mind-body treatment. Many forms of meditation involve focusing attention to suspend your conscious thought in hopes to achieve a state described as "thoughtless awareness." Meditation has shown to help change several limitations of the body, including brain function, breathing, as well as helping certain hormone productions. Reduced stress, decreased blood pressure, and improved quality of life are the strongest benefits of meditation in health conditions, like MS or PD. There are other benefits provided in terms of mood, pain, balance, fatigue, and other symptoms that are important to those with MS. To obtain these health benefits, it is suggested that you partake in regular daily practice of meditation for at least 20 minutes (MultipleSclerosis.net - A Health Union Community, 2013).
It was just recently, that MSQLP had the opportunity to host a workshop about Yoga and Meditation. The instructor, Shakti Bell, who lives with MS, provided instrumental insight and practice activities that showed how Yoga and Meditation could benefit those living with MS.
Click here to learn more about Shakti Bell's journey and her yoga practice.
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Did You Know?
Helpful tool for living with PD
By Rachel Bedford- MSQLP Intern
Did you know that Lift Labs Designs is an innovative new company that been working to help the PD community? As you may know, living with Parkinson's disease can result in experiencing symptoms such as: tremors, muscular rigidity, and imprecise movements (Mayo Clinic, 2014). The tremors make it extremely difficult for people with PD to eat and even enjoy their meals. Every meal can be a constant battle and can be embarrassing for the person struggling to eat. Lift Labs Designs has created a Liftware stabilizer that will help anyone struggling with tremors.
The liftware stabilizer is used as a tool to help people eat because the sensors in the handle detect these tremors. Once the tremors have been detected, the handle counteracts the tremors by moving the spoon opposite of the tremor (Lift Lab Designs, 2014). According to Lift Lab Designs, the stabilizer cancels out 70% of tremors. This design is much easier on any person who experiences tremors because the device allows for the user's hand to shake while it continues to stabilize, as opposed to hand braces. The stabilizer is portable and compact. It comes with a charging dock in order to charge the stabilizer. It takes roughly 2 to 3 hours to charge completely but the charge will last for a few days. The spoon portion is dishwasher safe but the stabilizer portion can only be cleaned with a damp sponge and dried off with a paper towel. For now it can only be used as a spoon, however, other attachments are coming soon. These attachments include forks, soup spoons, keys, and much more.
The only barrier to this useful tool is its cost. It costs $295.00 to order, which can be purchased on their website (listed below). It averages to 27¢ per meal over the first year, which, when you look at it like that is well worth the cost. In the end, this smart spoon is the first steps towards helping people with PD improve their quality of life through refining their ability to eat independently and steadily. You can learn more about this device at:
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MSQLP Websitewww.MSQLP.orgOur Mission:
The Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project (MSQLP) recognizes that people living with chronic illness have unmet needs. MSQLP is committed to filling these gaps by improving the quality of life of persons with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in the tri-county area of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito. Our programs serve families living with Parkinson's disease (PD) in Monterey County. We work with clients and their families to create comprehensive individual plans and programs that support client independence.
All of our services are free.
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$30 will fund outreach services for one client.
$70 will fund one water aerobics class.
$100 will fund a house visit with a client.
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Benefit MSQLP just through shopping online!
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Click on logo for details!
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Click on logo for details!
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Monthly Tip
Everyday Matters: The benefits of positive psychology
By Grant Helm
Some studies show that personality traits like optimism and pessimism can affect many areas of your health and well-being. The positive thinking that typically comes with optimism is a key part of reducing stress. Managing stress effectively is associated with many underlying health benefits. Positive thinking is not a framework of thought where you brush-off life's trials and tribulations. Positive thinking is when you approach unpleasantness in a more productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst. Positive thinking often begins with focusing on your self-talk.
Self-talk is the unspoken thoughts that run through your head. These automatic thoughts can be positive or negative. Some of your self-talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that you create because of lack of information or charged emotions.
Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include:
- Increased life span
- Lower rates of depression
- Lower levels of distress
- Greater resistance to the common cold
- Better psychological and physical well-being
Are you interested in learning about how positive psychology was implemented in MS support groups?
Click here and watch the videos of a program that National MS Society hosted.
Would you like to follow a program like that in our local area? Contact us and let us know!
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Amy's Corner
Talking Prescription Labels?
By Amy Lamb Heckel RDH
Yes! Many people with MS experience vision difficulties at some time. If it is a symptom aggravated by an exacerbation it may resolve either partially or completely, with or without the aid of medication. When vision is affected, whether permanently or temporarily, you may be having trouble reading your prescription labels. If so - there is a solution. It is even free!
En-Vision America has created the ScripAbility Prescription Accessibility System. They have the following to say about why this is so important. "Currently, there are many people that have difficulty reading or understanding the contents and instructions of their prescription medications. The small print and look-alike packaging of medicine vials can lead to confusion, non-compliance, and mistakes. "If your pharmacy places a ScripTalk talking label on your medication vial, you'll need a ScripTalk station to read it to you. These are available for free (yes, free!) to individuals with vision problems from En-Vision America. You can use the link below to access the needed form, or you can call 1.855.773.2579 to order one.
The above information on ScripTalk applies to Walmart and CVS pharmacies. Walgreens has their own option which is a vial cap with information recorded on it by the pharmacist that fills the prescription. If that pharmacist has an accent, you may have a problem understanding the recording, so give it a listen before you leave the store!
Though there is a link to "Participating Pharmacies" on the En-Vision America website, it is out of date and you will receive much more useful information by calling either 1.855.773.2579 or 1.800.890.1180 to determine if your pharmacy participates in this program. You can also view En-Vision America's ScripAbility video by clicking on the link below. Though the video is really aimed at pharmacies, it gives you a chance to see both their braille and their large print labels solutions in addition to ScripTalk.
Click here for a link to order a ScripTalk reader.
Watch the video:
 | | En-Vision America's video about ScripAbility |
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of Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
on GuideStar and help us grow!
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Multiple Sclerosis Quality of Life Project
519B Hartnell Street
Monterey, California 93940
831.333.9091
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