Grocery store is a venue for patient education
Seminars are conducted in the aisles
Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, IL, has found a new place to educate the community about health living and rehab services: the local grocery store. The hospital's Centre Club fitness and rehab center sponsors Apple a Day, a series of seminars on health care topics, at local supermarkets.
One supermarket has hosted the seminars at six-week intervals for two years. Other stores have signed on for an occasional seminar.
"It's good community outreach for us, and the stores love it," says Steve Aull, corporate director of fitness and wellness.
The medical center spends about $100,000 a year on community education programs, Aull adds. Last year, hospital staff made about 250 educational presentations to the community.
"The main focus for community health is to educate the public and to bring visibility and awareness about our facility," adds Karen Demski, RN, health promotion director. The hospital health promotion department developed and coordinates the Apple a Day program.
The programs are conducted on the sides of the store where there are double aisles. Often there is a cooking demonstration, or the store offers samples of its products.
"We use a lot of different staff for our program. We may have a physician, a physical therapist, someone from cardiac rehab, sports medicine, or even the pharmacy or emergency department," she says.
For instance, in a seminar in the produce department, a nutritionist discussed vitamins, the health benefits of fruits and vegetables, how to store produce, and how to determine if fruit is ripe. A chef gave a demonstration on garnishing and how to liven up the dinner table, and food purveyors were on hand to give out samples of their fruits and vegetables.
Here are some of the other topics:
· Self defense. The hospital brings in a self-defense instructor to talk about safety in the supermarket parking lot.
· Lifting and bending. A physical therapist demonstrates how to properly lift a 50-pound bag of dog food and how elderly or injured people can use the carts in the store for stabilization. The therapist also cautions participants to ask store personnel to help them with lifting and bending.
· Healthy living. An athletic trainer talks about incorporating exercise into a healthy lifestyle, while a chef gives a demonstration of heart-healthy cooking.
Usually about 40 to 80 people attend. "It always helps to build our referral system. Many times, we have people at the grocery shopping series who are unaware of our facility. It gives them awareness of our services. We've had people come to our lecture series and later come for cardiac rehab," Demski says.
The program is promoted through the newspaper. People who attend the sessions are asked to suggest topics they want to hear about.
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