Crumple it up Blog

Posts tagged as:

health and wellness

Launching CoHealth – a Workplace Wellness Cooperative

by Greg Matthews on January 18, 2010 · Comments

About a month ago, my friend Fran Melmed approached me with a really interesting opportunity.  Fran runs context communication consulting, and writes a really nice blog – free-range communication.  She’s got a passion for wellness in the workplace,  which is a hot button for me, too.  Well-being is our mantra at CrumpleItUp, and my background in corporate human resources gives me a unique take on its place in the office.  So when Fran asked me if I’d be interested in pulling together a TweetChat on workplace wellness, the answer was an easy, “YES.”

cohealth logo

Since then, Fran and I have been thinking about what that forum – really an ongoing conversation – might look like. We’re now ready to introduce cohealth, a wellness knowledge co-op made up of two social networks: a monthly Twitter chat and a Ning community group. The intent is to offer individuals interested in improving the effectiveness of company wellness efforts a space to share and learn.

Monthly CoHealth Twitter Chat

Fran and I will co-facilitate chats (partially inspired by the Health Care in Social Media tweetchat) every third Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. (EST). We’ll cover one or two topics each chat, with the community bringing questions, ideas and perspectives based on their experience. Topics will be set by the community, yet I think it’s safe to say they’ll include at least the following:

  • Effective workplace wellness design
  • Influencing behavior change
  • Communication strategy
  • Use of social media
  • Peer-to-peer influencing and support
  • Health gadgets and other shiny objects
  • Innovators in the field
  • Measurement and ROI

Inaugural Chat – Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Noon

For our first chat, we want to talk about what bothers and inspires us about workplace wellness. We also want to define our purpose and review guidelines. At the moment, the working rules are:

  • Tag all your tweets for the chat with #co_health (unfortunately for us, the simpler “cohealth” has been taken).
  • We’ll use the @co_health Twitter account to moderate the chat, with Fran or me guiding the conversation.
  • If you have questions you want discussed, direct message @co_health any time throughout the month. We’ll keep a log of requested topics.
  • This is a co-op, which means we all share the load to make it successful … no selling, no attacks.  Respectful dialogue and debate are always welcome.

The Ning Community

We’ll be storing chat transcripts on our Ning site, which will launch “soon” [Translation: As soon as I get off my duff and get it ready ;-)].  Ning will give us the capability of sharing pictures, videos and files, and of conducting polls, forums and discussions.  I don’t know if we’re going to actually do any of those things yet; we’ll be counting on the community to tell us.  But if nothing else, it’ll provide a home base for the community.

Until Jan. 20

If you’ve never joined a Twitter chat, let me know (in the comments, by direct message or via e-mail) and I’ll show you the ropes.   The easiest way to join is to use a tool specially made for the purpose (like TweetChat or our very own Tweet Positioning System).  Both of those tools will allow you to log in with just your twitter ID.

If you’re interested in being kept up to date, follow @co_health or leave a note in the comments.  In order to make it really, really easy for all of us to connect, we’re compiling a Twitter list (using TweepML) of cohealth members, and we’ll add you to it.

Please spread the word and invite others to join. The community will be stronger with more voices and experience represented.

P.S.  I want to acknowledge the Dakota Group for their pro bono donation of their graphic services. Thanks, Peter, et al!

Popularity: 10% [?]

{ 1 comment }

DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.

Stay. Sit. Heal. The Power of the Paw in Health and Wellness

by Amy Acton on October 30, 2009 · Comments

animals and healthIn recognition of National Dog Week I would like to honor the furry ‘physicians’ of our society – therapy dogs. Therapy dogs positively impact the quality of life for millions of children and adults. Via the unique human-animal bond, therapy dogs can ease physical and emotional pain beyond what traditional medical treatment and rehabilitation can do.

 Therapy dogs are trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, rehabilitation and hospice centers, schools, nursing homes, retirement communities, homeless shelters, youth at-risk centers and families with emotionally or physically impaired individuals. Therapy dogs are not service dogs. Service dogs directly assist humans by performing tasks the individual cannot do on their own and are legally protected at the federal level by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Therapy dogs provide a calming influence, companionship, trust and unconditional love for individuals with the following conditions: 

 According to the 4 Paws For Ability organization, children with FASD, ADHD or autism experience sensory overload causing involuntary, repetitive movements or behaviors. Therapy dogs are trained to disrupt this behavior by cueing the child with a gentle nuzzle or putting their paw on the child. Some children require deep pressure to still an over stimulated regulatory system. Modern medicine uses weighted blankets but therapy dogs trained to lie on top of the child provide ‘contact comfort’ that medical equipment simply cannot provide.

 Other documented benefits the organization has seen from the use of therapy dogs include improved social skills, an increase in the length of attention span, improved ability to focus, advancement in abstract and concrete thinking, improved self confidence, greater independence and empathy for others.

 Even more amazing is a dog’s response to seizures. According to Right Health a dog can be trained to summon help, activate a medical alert device, pull potentially dangerous objects away from the person having a seizure and perform ‘blocking’ tasks. Blocking refers to the dog keeping the individual from walking into streets or other dangerous areas or the act of the dog cushioning the fall of the individual with his own body. The Epilepsy Foundation describes these highly trained dogs as ‘alarm systems’ as they have the ability to predict in advance when seizures will occur in someone they are close to. Once again, something that modern medicine cannot do with such accuracy.

 Not just any Fido or Spot will do. Therapy dogs must be accredited through training and tested in the environments in which they will be working. While large dogs are more suited for service tasks like blocking for seizures or providing deep pressure to the over stimulated, ‘pet therapy’ or ‘animal assisted therapy’ are the terms used when other species like cats, rabbits, birds or other animals are used for comfort and companionship as rehabilitation for the abused, disabled, depressed or injured.

 I agree with Roger Caras who said “Dogs are not your whole life, but they make your life whole”.

photo by: Ed Yourdon

Popularity: 6% [?]

{ 1 comment }

DISCLAIMER ALERT: The ideas expressed in this post came out of my own head, were researched by my own eyes and were expressed by my own hands. They are not intended to serve as medical advice in any way, shape or form. And they do not reflect the views of Humana Inc. or any of its subsidiaries. I take full responsibility if you think this post is awesome or not awesome.