As a Health Promoter for Heartland Health Centers, I meet with patients 1:1 to discuss how to lead a healthy lifestyle. In our sessions we cover nutrition, exercise, sleep, and more. But the truth is, most of our patients know how to live a healthy lifestyle. If someone is eating fast food every day, it isn't because they think it's healthy, it's because the food is convenient or cheap or tasty. Giving information about healthy food is only a small portion of my role. Rather, in my sessions I help patients come up with feasible changes they can make to improve their diet and health. A large part of this is connecting patients to resources.
Heartland Health Centers, like many other federally qualified health centers, offers a wide-range of services including physical and mental health care, wellness classes, and health insurance enrollment. Our classes are a great resource for our patients, covering a wide range of topics, including Cooking Matters, stress management, and nutrition. However, our classes are not always the solution for a patient. In order to most effectively assist our patients, we need to be knowledgeable about other services in the area. I have researched local park district facilities, libraries, and other community resources in order to best serve our patients.
Moreover, the most valuable resource a Health Promoter has is time. A medical provider can encourage patients to eat more vegetables or exercise more, but they rarely have the time to discuss specific strategies with a patient. Patients can book either half hour or hour-long sessions with me in order to discuss the specifics. We can sit together and write meal plans and grocery lists. We can research park district fitness centers and find the one closest to their home. We can look at cookbooks on the library website and decide which ones they want to check out. Time is on our side. I can make sure patients leave with the resources and tools they need to start living a healthier lifestyle.
This blog post was written by NHC Chicago 2016-17 member Cara Kraus-Perrotta.
As a Health Promoter for Heartland Health Centers, I meet with patients 1:1 to discuss how to lead a healthy lifestyle. In our sessions we cover nutrition, exercise, sleep, and more. But the truth is, most of our patients know how to live a healthy lifestyle. If someone is eating fast food every day, it isn't because they think it's healthy, it's because the food is convenient or cheap or tasty. Giving information about healthy food is only a small portion of my role. Rather, in my sessions I help patients come up with feasible changes they can make to improve their diet and health. A large part of this is connecting patients to resources.