Medical professionals widely agree that permanent changes in the life choices of patients are needed to achieve sustained improvements in individual health and wellness. These cultural changes take time, however, and sustained support for individuals is needed until lifestyle changes are fully adopted.
To help individuals change their life habits, Army Medicine aims to provide clinic personnel with additional tools to engage Solders and their Families and guide them to permanent changes in sleep, nutrition, and exercise habits.
The U.S. Army Medical Command has deployed "Move to Health", a professional development program designed to aid clinical personnel and clinic staff. The 2.5 day Move to Health seminar was tested in April at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, Virginia, and at Fort Meade, Maryland, with the staff of the local Medical Home Team and other health care professionals.
The Move to Health instructional team is Lt. Col. Robert Oh, Lt. Col. Tamara Funari, Lt. Col. Rob Goodman, and Lt. Col. Amy King.
About 20 personnel attended the initial Move to Health seminar. They received instruction on holistic approaches to health care to share with patients. The Performance Triad was reviewed, but other components of self-care -- personal development, individual personal surroundings, the power of the mind, spiritual growth, and family and social relations -- and how they are important to health received increased emphasis.
The target audience for Move to Health is clinicians, including primary care providers, behavioral health providers, nutritionists, social workers, and psychologists; nurses; 68 Whiskey medics; and even administrative personnel who have contact with patients.
Clinical and administrative personnel had a chance to explore and practice techniques. The critical goal is to get patients involved in their individual healthcare decisions.
Move to Health wants clinicians to explore with patients what really matters to them, so health decisions are choices deliberately made by patients that drive them toward health and fitness.
Move to Health strives to ensure the entire healthcare team relates to patients and helps them find opportunities that support healing through nutrition, stress management, movement, and mindfulness.
Because patients are also encouraged to practice mindfulness techniques to improve resiliency and prevent burnout in daily activities, the participants in Move to Health were given exposure to personal control techniques, such as mindfulness, and relaxation strategies, such as tai chi.
Mindfulness is being aware of the present in a deliberate non-judgmental way. It has been shown to reduce stress and help individuals regulate emotions and improve sleep.
Tai chi is a combination of breathing and body movements made mindfully. Tai chi has been shown to improve balance, reduce pain for those with arthritis, and provide other health benefits as well.
Move to Health moves beyond daily activities to help empower patients to take increased personal responsibility for improving their health, resilience and personal performance.
Army Medicine has already created the Performance Triad concept -- sleep, activity, and nutrition -- to provide a tool for the Army Family to use to help encourage better health choices.
The Move to Health Program aims to reach patients with messages of responsibility for health and wellness and provides a direct benefit for clinical personnel as well. Because the U.S. Army Medical Command is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (CME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians, they will get credit toward some of their annual CME requirements.
The Move to Health pilot program has been funded for training at seven locations. Move to Health is the next step in activating the patient's own inner self-healing mechanisms. It's all part of Army Medicine's effort to change the conversation when it comes to health care.
Social Sharing