Published 5 December 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
A newly certified Living Healthy Leader, Pastor Keith Warner, says the six-week programme taught him to eat healthy and do more exercise.
“It helps me to look after my body seriously and as I get older it teaches me to watch what I eat so I cut out a lot of things. I want to encourage you to tell your family about the programme so they too can also do the course to make sure they are educated about diseases,” he said.
He added that he was very excited to complete the course and says he intends to positively impact others as a Living Healthy Leader.
Another Living Healthy Leader, Nurse Jessica Brian shared her experience on the workshops she conducted at Her Majesty’s Prison with both male and female residents.
“We had a great reception and participation from everyone from the staff to the residents,” she said and noted that her experience in Her Majesty’s Prison with a group of enthusiastic females last year made her jump at the chance to go back this year and have a session with the male residents.
Nurse Novelia Rawlins Nwosu highlighted that the programme taught her a very valuable life lesson on action planning, which has helped her both in her personal and work life.
“I’ve learned about action planning, which has impacted my life greatly and my family, because they were able to encourage me to get my action plan off the ground. We learned that once we prioritize ourselves, our stress levels come down and we are able to sleep and operate better. Overall, it has helped me in my career as well because it has strengthened what I’ve started. I was happy and excited when I decided to join the programme,” she said.
The CDSMP programme, started by Stanford University, was introduced to the Caribbean region in 2015. It is an effective self-management education workshop designed to help persons with chronic health problems.
Since its introduction to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, there have been 42 trained Living Healthy Leaders.
Persons interested in learning how to manage their chronic conditions and reduce their medical costs can contact the Ministry of Health’s Health Promotion Unit at 869-467-1236 or visit their nearby health centre to get information on the programme.
