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Health
Matters,
by George Sedlacek
Campaign
urges citizens to step up to health challenge
Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote that “the greatest wealth is health.”
Anyone who’s suffered with an illness or chronic disease knows
the truth of these simple words.
The good news is that illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular
disease, kidney disease, arthritis and osteoporosis can be prevented
or minimized by eating healthy, exercising often, reducing stress and
not smoking.
The Marquette County Health Department works daily to educate citizens
about these diseases and promote healthy lifestyles in order to save
lives, and in terms of health care costs, to save dollars.
We all understand the importance of keeping ourselves and our families
healthy, which is a great motivator for prioritizing smart lifestyle
choices. But we may not think about the fact that an unhealthy population
also impacts the bottom line in terms of the economy; we all pay the
price when Michigan is not as healthy as it could and should be.
The “Michigan Steps Up!” program (www.michiganstep sup.org)
offers an interactive, online way to help citizens by providing tools
for creating a personal health plan, recording daily achievements, updating
weekly goals and completing a health-risk appraisal.
The site is organized into sections geared specifically toward five
different groups: people, schools, communities, businesses and health
care settings. The site includes healthy recipes, tips for staying in
shape and staying motivated, how to order healthy at restaurants and
more.
There are some really great ideas on the Web site. For example, I like
the advice to “shop on the edge,” which urges you to shop
around the outer aisles of the store, where there usually are fresh
vegetables, meats, eggs and dairy, and to avoid the inner aisles, which
usually contain more expensive and less healthy processed foods.
The environment in which we live also affects our health. The Michigan
Department of Community Health (MDCH) recommends that each community,
township, city or village have a Community Health Coalition, which can
be a new launch or an expansion of an existing community group, as long
as they include interdisciplinary representation from community leaders
who can assist with supporting and implementing physical activity, nutrition,
tobacco-free programs, policies and changes in the environment.
The cities of Ishpeming and Marquette already have completed such a
survey and are near the top of communities that provide many recreational
experiences. Marquette also has the Yellow Bike Project, which provides
free bikes to families to try out the city’s bike paths. The program
is coordinated by the U.P. Children’s Museum this year. Ishpeming
has a new “Fit Strip” at Al Quaal. Negaunee will be promoting
walking and biking on the new Heritage Trail in the Old Town area.
The health department also is offering senior citizen health screenings
this summer. The program is especially attractive for seniors between
the ages of sixty and sixty-four. According to health screening nurse
Mary Kelto, many seniors before age sixty-five do not have health insurance.
“Many are either retired with no insurance benefits or are too
young for the Medicare program,” she said.
The program is available to all seniors older than sixty. Each senior
center can make appointments this summer. The schedule is posted at
www.mqthealth.org
Additional information about the “Public Health—For Michigan.
For You” slogan and “2007: The Year of Public Health”
can be found at www.malph.org
—George Sedlacek
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