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Awards Banquet 2006

Exercise: A Healthy Habit to Start and Keep

by John Muller

New Year’s Resolution Time!!
Greetings Carespring Family – Happy New Year. I’m sure we’re all sick of Christmas cookies & perhaps a little too much ‘cheer’ & it’s gone to our waistline. The following are some suggestions & guidelines for starting an exercise program as adapted from http://familydoctor.org . I hope you use them – I intend to as well. Let’s have a healthy, happy, and prosperous 2007 – wishing you all the best.

How much exercise do I need?
A good goal for many people is to work up to exercising 4 to 6 times a week for 30 to 60 minutes at a time. Remember, though, that exercise has so many benefits that any amount is better than none.

How do I get started?
Start by talking with your doctor or health care professional. This is especially important if you haven't been active, if you have any health problems, or if you're pregnant or elderly. Start out slowly. If you've been inactive for years, you can't run the Flying Pig Marathon after 2 weeks of training. Begin with a 10-minute period of light exercise or a brisk walk every day and gradually increase how hard you exercise and for how long.

Making exercise a habit

Stick to a regular time every day.
Sign a contract committing yourself to exercise.
Put "exercise appointments" on your calendar – use your Outlook to track & remind you.
Keep a daily log or diary of your activities – this can also be accomplished in Outlook.
Check your progress. Can you walk a certain distance faster now than when you began? Or is your heart rate slower now?
Ask your doctor to write a prescription for your exercise program, such as what type of exercise to do, how often to exercise and for how long.
Think about joining a health club. The cost gives some people an incentive to exercise regularly.

How can I prevent injuries?
Start every workout with a warm-up. That will make your muscles and joints more flexible. Spend 5 to 10 minutes doing some light calisthenics and stretching exercises, and perhaps brisk walking. Do the same thing when you're done working out--until your heart rate returns to normal. Pay attention to your body. Stop exercising if you feel very out of breath, dizzy, faint or nauseated, or have pain.

What is the best exercise?
The best exercise is the one that you will do. Walking is considered one of the best choices because it's easy, safe and cheap. Brisk walking can burn as many calories as running, but is less likely than running or jogging to cause injuries. And it doesn't require any training or special equipment, except for good shoes.
Walking is an aerobic and weight-bearing exercise, so it is good for your heart and helps prevent osteoporosis.

Benefits of regular exercise

Reduces your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis, diabetes and obesity
Keeps joints, tendons and ligaments flexible so it's easier to move around
Reduces some of the effects of aging
Contributes to your mental well-being and helps treat depression
Helps relieve stress and anxiety
Increases your energy and endurance
Helps you sleep better
Helps you maintain a normal weight by increasing your metabolism (the rate you burn calories)

How do I stick with it?
Here are some tips that will help you start and stick with an exercise program:

Choose something you like to do. Make sure it suits you physically, too. For instance, swimming is easier on arthritic joints.
Get a partner. Exercising with someone else can make it more fun.
Vary your routine. You may be less likely to get bored or injured if you change your routine. Walk one day. Bicycle the next. Consider activities like dancing and racquet sports, and even chores like chopping wood.
Don't get discouraged. It can take weeks or months before you notice some of the changes from exercise.
Forget "no pain, no gain." While a little soreness is normal after you first start exercising, pain isn't. Stop if you hurt.
Make exercise fun. Read, listen to music or watch TV while riding a stationary bicycle, for example. Find fun things to do, like taking a walk through the zoo. Go dancing. Learn how to play tennis.

Excerpt from “Redwoods”
by Mark Adams
Contributed by Cathy Hamblen

10 qualities to look for in a Coach:

A coach is more like a shepherd than a general
The team should reflect some traits of their coach
A coach believes in the 90-10 Rule. It must be FUN with 90% positive reinforcement
A coach nurtures people to someday take his/her job.
A coach should always encourage competition.
A coach learns how to ride the wave and how to rock the boat.
A coach delegates but does not dictate
A coach creates an environment of roving leadership
A coach always says tank you to his team by giving them all of the credit for success
A coach always takes the blame for a team’s failures.”

"Let Me Tell You What I Can Do"

by Kim Majick

It is important to know what to say when you have to turn down a customers request or deliver bad news. Three simple steps can help you when you face these circumstances.

Explain the reason.
Show empathy.
Let the customer know what you can do.

Example: "Mrs. Smith, due to federal regulations we are unable to release medical records without written consent from the resident or power of attorney. I am so sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause. I am happy to give you a copy of the consent form so that you can pursue bringing in the power of attorney to complete. Again, I am sorry for the inconvenience."

Canadian bacon and apple strata
by Jim Gehler

8 eggs
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
2 tablespoons honey-Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled and diced
6 cups cubed crusty sourdough bread or 2 large sourdough rolls, about 8 ounces
6 ounces Canadian bacon, diced
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese

In a medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt, cayenne and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, toss apples, bread cubes and bacon together. Coat 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Arrange bread mixture in baking dish. Pour egg mixture evenly over the top. Gently press bread mixture with a wooden spoon to ensure all the bread is moistened. Top with shredded cheese. Cover with nonstick foil and refrigerate overnight.

To bake, heat oven to 400 degree. Remove strata from refrigerator and bake, covered, at 400 degree for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 more minutes, until top is nicely browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Preventing Infections
by Dr. Gendelman

I hope everyone is well and got at least one thing they wanted for Christmas. I did. Since we are in the winter months, I wanted to discuss infections, especially upper respiratoryand GI infections. Make sure you are washing your hands between patients. Also it helps if you wash your facea few times during a shift. It really cuts down on bacteria that you carry around.

If you do get sick, you need to be especially careful around patients. Staying home for a day or two will also help stopthe contamination in the facility. Keep your kids well with the same consideration. Wash, wash and wash!

When giving, give wisely

by David Eppers

Typical financial planning advice focuses on Investing, Saving, and Spending wisely. (If you want more on any of those areas feel free to reread my column in any prior month’s newsletter). This month I’d like to focus on what you give away.

Why Give? Personally I have several reasons. It’s biblically founded, it’s also a societal custom and can be fun to do.

The concept is based on giving freely. That does not, however mean you shouldn’t have a goal or outcome that you want to achieve through certain gifts. Here are suggestions to consider when giving money to a charity:

Is the Charity’s purpose something you want to support?

How much of your contribution will go directly to benefit the recipients in the charity? A reputable charity should be able to show how much of your donation is going to the recipients versus administrative costs or financing future fund raising.

Is the charity reputable? A qualified charity should be able to provide you with their Tax ID and information regarding your personal tax deduction.

New Year’s Resolutions

by Beth Lind, R.D., L.D.

Many of us make New Year’s resolutions, few of us keep them. On average, 25% of New Year’s resolutions will be abandoned in the first 15 weeks. If healthier habits and weight loss are among your New Year’s resolutions, give yourself a big pat on the back for making health a priority. Here are a few tips to help you keep on track and keep your resolution.

Set it in stone. You are more likely to stick to it if you have it written down.
Set a date. Have a set date in mind that you want to achieve your goal, or part of your goal.
Meet mini goals. Make small changes every week and they will add up in time.
Bring in the troops. Telling someone else your goals will probably make you feel that much more dedicated to reaching them.
Chart your progress. Keep a record of your weight loss. Set rewards you want for each goal you set so you can look forward to them.
Be realistic. Nothing sets you up for failure more than having unrealistic expectations.

Make a New LIFE Resolution!

By Barb McFarland

Life List This year, instead of making a resolution to change something for a year, make a resolution to change your life. Do you have a list in your head of things you want to accomplish in your lifetime? Write them down! Putting it on paper brings you one step closer to fulfilling these life long dreams.

Make your Life List and keep it somewhere where you will see it! It really is fun to accomplish things and cross them off your list!

Office Tips

by Craig Ray

You can use the Alt key while dragging data to prevent the sheet from scrolling. If you've ever had to drag data right to the edge of the worksheet, you already know that Excel can overreact and send you scrolling off the edge well past your data. Holding down the Alt key allows you to move a block of data right to the edge without all that trouble - the sheet won't scroll.

Microsoft Word's AutoCorrect feature can be a pain at times, but in other instances it can be quite helpful. One example is copyrights and trademarks. Normally, you would have to go through a menus to put thes symbols in your documents. As long as AutoCorrect is enable, just type (c), (r), or (tm) in your document and it should result in a copyright symbol, registered trademark, and trademark symbol being displayed.

You can increase or decrease the font size in Word or Excel with a simple key combination, instead of using menus. By typing Ctrl+Shift+> or Ctrl+Shift+< you can increase or decrease, respectively, your font size by the incremental values specified in the Font pull-down menu.