HEALTH ALERT: Cold and Flu Season. How to Take Care of Yourself

The Community First Health Co-operative, in Nelson, B.C., has asked its health practitioners to provide us some guidance on how to take care of ourselves during this year's cold and flu season.

Here is our first instalment provided by Shauna Robertson, R. TCM.P, Registered Acupuncturist and Herbalist of Nelson's Acupuncture and Natural Health Clinic.

Cold and flu season is upon us once again and it is important that we keep our bodies at optimum health in order to have the ability to ward off these viruses.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we view the cold and flu virus as an invasion of external pathogenic wind. This pathogenic wind is able to break through our bodies defenses (immune system) if our system becomes weakened.

Ways in which we can keep our immune systems strong are by eating nutritionally, getting enough sleep, exercising daily and avoiding stress. Dressing according to the weather is also very important. So in the fall this may mean layering clothes because it is colder in the morning and evening but may be very warm in the afternoons.

If however, you do succumb to the cold or flu TCM has a full arsenal of tools to help bring relief. Acupuncture and herbs are very effective at warding off the cold and flu viruses as well as treating the symptoms and allowing you make a speedy recovery.

For more information on Acupuncture and TCM and the cold/flu you can visit my website at http://www.anhc.ca/health-well-news/

There is some really excellent information on Shauna's website including  great healthful recipes, as well as information on Seasonal Affective Disorder and so much more.  Take a moment and check it out by connecting through this link.

Welcome to Nelson BC Acupuncture & Natural Health Clinic:

Acupuncture & Natural Health Clinic of Shauna Robertson, R.TCM.P, Registered Acupuncturist & Herbalist.

We Are Located at 101-518 Lake St. in Beautiful Nelson, BC.

Contact us at:  

1-250-352-2167

Holistic Healthcare, Sports Acupuncture, Allergies, Anxiety, Arthritis, Asthma, Autoimmune Disease, Back Pain, Cancer Care, Carpal Tunnel, Colds & Flu, Depression, Diabetes, Fertility, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, Hypertension, IBS, Insomnia, Menopause, Multiple Sclerosis, Neck Pain, Pain, PMS, Pregnancy, Smoking Cessation Acupuncture & Stress and much more.

Make sure you check in for updates on taking care of yourself during our annual cold and flu season.

Erin, Marion and Eric

Affordable Housing, Low Cost Dental and Added Support for the Alzheimer Society at the November Health Co-op Board Meeting

Wow, how did November arrive so quickly?  With -2 and scraping windows it seems that the long fall is heading early into winter. 

Community First Health Co-op held their monthly Board meeting with most of us present and here are some highlights.

The Lake Street Housing Committee met earlier this month  with Nelson Council member Michael Dailly to begin a discussion around housing options and needs within the region. We would like to thank him for his time and we had a great talk about some of the initiatives in Nelson and some of the unmet needs, such as housing for the working poor. We also had a chance to brainstorm some ideas around Land Trusts and lease-holds and will continue our work in that area.

TEETH our low cost Dental initiative is booming. We had over 300 visits in the past year and it continues to grow in services offered. It has been short listed for a financial award and we are just awaiting information on the voting procedure.  Once we know it check out our blog and website and facebook pages so you can learn how to vote so that we can win the award and the financial prize to enhance our work in this much needed area.

Thanks to Julia Leffelaar of the Alzheimer Society of B.C. for volunteering to not only provide workshops, but to also volunteer to be in the resource center for one Friday each month to provide support to our community.  Julie will be available, in the resource centre on theses dates:  Dec 11, January 8, Feb 12 and March 11. We are still looking for volunteers for 3 Friday afternoons a month.

We also want to welcome a new member to our partners in the building Elephant Mountain Counselling.  Here is the link:

http://elephantmountaincounselling.ca/

Take care and get out and enjoy the brisk fall air!!

Eric, Marion and Erin

Health Co-op Board Meeting: Highlights from October 13, 2015

Highlights of Our Board Meeting:

• Pacific Blue Cross Foundation announces TEETH Clinic as one of five finalists in their 75th Anniversary social media competition for $50,000.  

5 finalists

West Kootenay TEETH clinic – Nelson, BC

  Charlford House Society for Women – Vancouver, BC

  Canim Lake Band – Tsq'escenemc People, 100 Mile House, BC

  StreetoHome – Vancouver, BC

Crisis Intervention & Suicide Prevention Centre of BC (Crisis Centre) 

Videos will be posted to a web or social media page hosted by Pacific Blue Cross, where the public can vote on their favourite interview / story.  Make sure you vote for your local, West Kootenay Low Cost Dental Clinic 

 

• Community Health Resource Centre meeting room is being well used by caring community health organizations and September sees the expansion of community use.

 

• Our website blog will have a new feature shortly.   Health practitioners, partners in the Wellness Centre, will be sharing their expertise in a variety of areas such as dealing with seasonal colds and flu, pain management, etc.  If you have any ideas on what you would like us to cover - drop a line through the comments section.

That is it from your local Health Co-op.  Let us know what you think - comments are most welcome.

Marion, Erin and Eric

Alzheimer Society of B.C. - Understanding Behaviour & Communication. A Workshop, for Caregivers, on Thursday, November 19th, 2015 in Nelson

What is dementia?

Dementia is an overall term for a set of symptoms that are caused by disorders affecting the brain. Symptoms may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language, severe enough to reduce a person's ability to perform everyday activities. A person with dementia may also experience changes in mood or behaviour.

Dementia is progressive, which means the symptoms will gradually get worse as more brain cells become damaged and eventually die.

Dementia is not a specific disease. Many diseases can cause dementia, the most common being Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia (due to strokes). Some of the other causes of dementia include Lewy Body disease, head trauma, fronto-temporal dementia, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease. These conditions can have similar and overlapping symptoms.

Some treatable conditions can produce symptoms similar to dementia, for example, vitamin deficiencies, thyroid disease, sleep disorders, or mental illness. It is therefore important to arrange for a full medical assessment as early as possible.

Getting a timely diagnosis can help you access information, resources and support through the Alzheimer Society, benefit from treatment, and plan ahead.


Marion and I have both attended some of Julie's workshops and have found them very interesting and educational.  If you have a chance to attend - please take advantage of Julie's expertise.

Eric and Marion

Seniors Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, wants to Hear from Seniors Living in the Nelson Area on October 6th, 2015

You are invited to a

Town Hall Meeting with B.C.'s Seniors Advocate

Tuesday, October 6, 2015

TIME: 2:00-4:00 PM

Best Western Baker Street Inn

Osprey Room, 

153 Baker Street, 

Nelson, B.C.

The Seniors Advocate, Isobel Mackenzie, wants to hear from seniors and their family members who live in Nelson and area. You are invited to meet the Advocate and let her know what is working and not working for seniors in Nelson.

The Advocate will discuss her role, seniors’ concerns heard in B.C., home care issues, access to seniors’ services and housing. The audience is encouraged to participate in questions and discussion.

www.seniorsadvocatebc.ca    

   info@seniorsadvocatebc.ca 

1-877-952-3181

Community First Health Co-op and The Living is Easy...

September – and the living is easy!

We are happy to see the sun out and our summer continue for a few more weeks, we can only hope.

The students are back at school and CFHC board is back at work – well we are always doing work, but our official board meetings have begun.

We continue our work in collaboration with others and are so pleased to see the growth of some of our initiatives – TEETH – the West Kootenay Low Cost Dental is a true success story.

We have 3 dentists who volunteer their time to staff the clinic. Over the course of time we have had 16 dental assistants, 7 dental hygienists and 9 receptionists work at the clinic. A big shout out to Dana who has done so much work for this, off the side of her desk.

 In July there as 1 clinic, in August 3 and we are hoping to do 3-4 each month. We have managed to work with 51 patients over the summer.    The Denture project with Dr. Haack from Trail has begun, and though it is still expensive we have been able to help support some clients getting appointment and in one case, some new dentures.

On Oct 1, 2015 in the Nelson Community Complex a Seniors Day will be happening and the TEETH table will be there to give out information or help clients with signing up for low cost dental.

On August 25th we had the distinct pleasure to join in the discussion with President Paul Zysman and John Restakis- ED for Inspiration in Action.

Ed and John sharing their vision

Inspiration in Action is seeking understanding and insights to support co-operative community economic development internationally. 

It gave all of us, that work with Community First Health Co-op, in differing capacities, to reflect on its history, operations, projects, and viability... there was some great energy here and a good reminder why we are all involved with the health co-op.

Proposed Lake Street Housing Project,  presentation by John Restakis on  the possible role a Community Land Trust might play in its realization. John used his work with The Vancouver CLT co-op housing project as an example.

The meeting with Ed and John was definitely re-energizing for our Lake Street Housing Project for affordable housing in our community.

A new initiative we are exploring is the Hans Kai Project in conjunction with other groups within Nelson. Hans Kai was developed in Japan to help people focus on increasing their health knowledge and their ability to monitor their own basic health indicators in a peer-supported environment with the aim of  achieving and maintaining optimal wellness.

It was brought to Canada by Nor ‘ West Co-op in Winnipeg and Robert Cliché Co-op in Quebec.

Stay tuned for more information as we are hoping to bring the Hans Kai trainers here in January.

And hold Saturday April 16^th from 10-4 for our 2^nd PASSPORT TO WELLNESS FAIR”

Enjoy the remaining days of summer. Get out and walk or bike or kayak – for winter will be upon us soon. 

Don't you just love this time of year!

Marion and Eric

Community First Health Co-op Annual Statutory Meeting - June 2015

The CFHC Statutory meeting was held on June 12. 2105 with the full board in attendance. 

Karen and Erin

We welcomed our two new board members Erin Morrison and Karen Hornby.  Erin is a health coach and Karen is a nurse, so both bring a fresh perspective to our board. We are excited for all the possibilities of tapping into their energy and expertise.

It was fun as we told them about the adventures and misadventures of trying things on the board and gave them fair warning, that if you have a great idea and want to fly with it, go for it, but you will be heading the initiative and the rest will be there for backup.

We are very happy to report that we are financially solvent and in good shape.  We have managed to rent out most of our space and we have a continual rental of the Stoddart Room for long term course or workshops.  Thanks to Lynn for managing this for us.

We are making an application for The Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program for some work on our HVAC system. We are hoping to be successful as with all buildings, heat and ventilation and air conditioning always seem to be in need of updating. This is only for infrastructure and so fingers crossed we get this one.  UPDATE:  We just received the great news that we will be receiving $50,000 to support this important initiative.

Our next meeting, unless something comes up , will be on Tuesday September 8 at 2;30 pm.

Have a great summer and as they say, we will catch you on the flip side!

Eric and Marion