Get healthy, for free, with Capital Health service

Joanne Oostveen - The Weekly News
Free health and wellness programs are now available in East Dartmouth.
Capital Health is launching the service to support people and communities to be as healthy as they can be, and at their own pace said Shannon Ryan, health services manager of Primary Health Care for Capital Health.
"We will provide risk-factor assessments and group sessions on healthy eating, building goals, weight management, managing stress, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and how to set realistic health goals," she said.
"In the future we will be fine-tuning and adding programs as we determine what the public wants. These group sessions are free; all people have to do is call and register."
Networking
The sessions will be offered to residents of East Dartmouth, defined as the area between Waverley Road to Portland Street and between the Circumferential Highway to the Forest Hills Parkway, and will be held at 58 Tacoma Dr. and the East Dartmouth Community Center at 50 Caledonia Rd.
Ryan said people will benefit by networking with other people with the same goals, like learning how to get started on being healthy and how to manage their own health needs.
The Community Health team will also lead or partner with other community groups, provide connections to services already in place and help those with chronic illness or complex needs.
"Sometimes people just need to know they are supported in their goals, or they need to be pointed in the right direction," said Ryan.
"We listened to what the community had to say and are focussing our programs around their needs and providing the tools and information."
Capital Health had conversations with about 360 people from East Dartmouth over the past year.
During these conversations with community organizations and family physicians, the Community Health team said they heard that people need "service navigators," someone to help them move their way through a sometimes complex health-care system.
"So we will link people to services, offer programming and work towards being a place to find information and resources," she said.
Expert team
The team will consist of a dietician, physiotherapist, kinesiologist and the wellness navigator.
"This is exciting for Dartmouth," said Ryan, "and this will be your way to wellness."
For information on how to sign up for any of the risk factor assessments or group information sessions, call 460-4555.
joanneoostveen@accesswave.ca