Volume 24
Number 2
January 25, 2013
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
You can do it! Don’t give up on your New Year’s resolutions. `` David Sarwer, PhD.
The new year frequently brings with
Set a Realistic Goal
it resolutions to improve our lives. Not
When it comes to weight loss, people want to lose too much, too quickly, Sarwer said. “It took years to put on the weight so don’t try to take it off in a few months,” he said. “One to two pounds a week is a safe weight loss.” Indeed, losing just five percent of your current body weight will make a significant improvement in many weight-related health problems, like high blood pressure or blood sugar.
surprisingly, the two goals topping most people’s lists are losing weight and getting more exercise. Suddenly gyms are more crowded and weight-loss programs see significant increases in membership. Diet aid apps are downloaded. But within a few months — or sooner — many become discouraged and give up. What’s the key to success? We spoke with psychologist David Sarwer, PhD, director of Penn’s Weight & Eating Disorders Program, for tips on keeping the momentum going.
Inside Boosting Confidence in Young Girls................................2 Let Penn Medicine Help You Reach Your Goals......................3 Family Members Learn to Save Lives with CPR.............4
“Weigh yourself weekly and evaluate your approach,” Sarwer said. “At the end of the month, if you’re down at least four pounds, it’s working. Slow and steady win the race.” And, while you might have several items on your resolution list, pick one to focus on. You’re more likely to succeed when your efforts aren’t being pulled in multiple directions.
Keep Track of What You Eat You may think you don’t eat a lot but, chances are, your daily intake contains extra calories. “Calories can add up really quickly,” Sarwer said. Yet, lowering the total intake can be as simple as switching from regular soda to diet or, better yet, water. Or, if you eat two cookies for lunch, cut back to one. “Our patients tell us that they’ve cut 500 calories a day without feeling hungry or deprived.”
Make small sustainable changes. “Don’t give up food you love,” Sarwer advised. “If you love cheese steaks, keep them in your diet but eat them less frequently.” Kathleen Cassidy, clinical coordinator for the Rapid Response Team, is proof of the importance of recording what you eat. She’s lost 16 pounds in three months, using the Weight Watcher’s point system. She said keeping track of — and planning — her meals is key to staying on the diet. “I have learned to eat appropriately,” she said. “I pack my lunch because it’s easier to keep track of points. If I know I’m going out to eat, I’ll look up the restaurant’s menu on line and plan what I’ll have. I make healthier choices.” And give it time to work, Sarwer stressed. “Most people tend to abandon a diet or a weight loss program earlier than recommended, before they’ve seen benefits.” Share your goals with close supportive family and friends to help you stay on course. Or enroll in a weight-loss program. Although some people succeed on their own, others prefer the structured approach and comradery of these groups. (Continued on page 3)
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`` Killeen Shuda (l.) and Anna Remy are helping to establish the Philadelphia chapter of Girls on the Run.
Boosting Confidence in Young Girls Killeen Shuda of Rhoads 7 first heard about Girls on the Run in 2005 when she moved to Southern California; her sister volunteered as a GOTR coach there. The nonprofit organization helps girls in grades third through eighth grow into confident, healthy young women through conversation-based lessons and activities. “She loved how it empowered the girls.” Discovering that there was no GOTR in Philadelphia did not dissuade Shuda from reaching out. She and Anna Remy of the CICU joined the GOTR steering committee responsible for starting the local council. “This is such an important age,” Shuda said. “What they learn in elementary school can shape their experiences in middle school and, ultimately, in life.” Both have already undergone training to become coaches and will begin their first season in March. The two starter schools have been selected — Greenfield in Rittenhouse and Bache-Martin in Fairmount Park – and the council hopes to eventually expand to many more. “When people in nearby schools hear about this program, they want their children’s school to have it as well.” As part of the program’s 12-week “season” — which uses curriculum set by the national organization — each coach meets twice a week after school with a small group of girls (no more than eight per coach), leading discussions about issues that girls face at this age, for example, how to handle bullying and negative talk, and how this makes them feel. “We provide a safe environment,” Shuda said. To encourage a healthy lifestyle, each session also includes fun physical activities. “They don’t even realize it’s exercise!” Remy said. From the start of the season, the girls practice for their 5k run, which is the culmination of the program. “It is a celebration of and for the girls who are completing the three-month season of the Girls on the Run programming,” Shuda said. Each receives a medal for completing the noncompetitive run.
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“It gives them a sense of accomplishment,” she continued. “The 5k celebrates a season of learning about the importance of taking care of our emotional and physical health and truly embodies our mission of inspiring girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident!” The girls also do a community-service project during the last four weeks.
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You can change a person’s life. And I’m certain the girls will change ours as well. ”
The Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant has given them a significant boost in getting the program started, Shuda said, but they will need to hold fundraisers to cover the many additional costs, such as scholarships for girls who can’t afford the organization’s participation fee. “We want to provide a positive influence for the girls, to let them see young professional females who are successful,” Shuda said. “Our message to the girls is: you can do anything you want to,” Remy said. “You can change a person’s life. And I’m certain the girls will change ours as well.” To learn more about Girls on the Run or how to become a part of the newly formed Philadelphia council, contact: • killeen.shuda@uphs.upenn.edu • anna.remy@uphs.upenn.edu • council director at gotrphiladelphia@gmail.com. You can also visit www.gotrphiladelphia.org.
Do you volunteer your time for community outreach? If so, you may be eligible to receive a Penn Medicine CAREs Foundation grant. To learn more and apply, go to http://uphsxnet.uphs.upenn.edu/community/
Let Penn Medicine Help You Reach Your Goals! Hoping to lose weight? Quit smoking? Begin an exercise program? Below are just a few of the ways Penn Medicine can help, with resources, tools, and programs aimed at helping employees become healthier. To learn about these programs and more, go to www.uphshrandyou.com and click on Wellfocused.
Quit Smoking! A free tobacco cessation program provides 13 weeks of coaching and nicotine replacement therapy (gum, patch, or lozenge) that will be mailed directly to your home at no cost to you! All tobacco cessation prescription co-pays are waived as well. Call 1-866-695-8622 to get started today.
Lose Weight! Two convenient weight-loss programs at Penn can help. Weight Watchers is onsite at the Center for Nursing Renewal, and the Albert Stunkard Weight Management Program is located at 3535 Market Street (http://www.med.upenn.edu/weightloss/). Also available through Penn Medicine are reimbursements and discounts for enrolling in weight-loss programs.
You can do it!
Get Moving! Earn a $150 reimbursement for working out at the gym 120 times per year if you are enrolled in either the Penn Care PPO or KPOS benefit plan through the Independence Blue Cross Healthy Lifestyles Program. Aetna members can receive discounts for home exercise equipment and for joining a gym.
(Continued from cover story)
Don’t give up on your New Year’s resolutions.
Shake a Leg Many people cringe when they hear the word exercise but burning calories doesn’t have to be agony. One of the easiest ways to work fitness into your lifestyle is to increase the number of steps you take each day. It’s not hard. Use the steps instead of the elevator. Take a walk during lunch. “The campus provides the
perfect opportunity to do that,” Sarwer said. Get off the bus one stop earlier and walk the extra 10 minutes home.
Buy a pedometer, Sarwer suggested, and work your way up to 10,000 steps a day, the equivalent of five miles. “An inactive person may take fewer than 3,000 steps each day. Add 500 steps a day each week until you reach the 10,000-step mark,” he said, adding that when shopping at a mall, a One of the best ways to receive accurate information person can “cruise past 10,000 steps — and ask questions — about HUP and the in a couple hours!” Health System is to hear it from members of senior
All employee meetings leadership directly. You have that opportunity every month, at All Employee Meetings held in Medical Alumni Hall, on 1 Maloney. The next three will be held: dnesday, February 6 We Noon to 1:00 pm dnesday, March 20 We 5:00 to 6:00 pm dnesday, April 10 We 8:30 to 9:30 am
Sarwer also recommended dedicating periods of time for physical activity. Cassidy found her niche in swimming at a local fitness center. Keisha Hamilton of Patient Accounting found it in zumba. She joined the thrice-weekly sessions held at the Center for Nursing Renewal last March and that, along with cutting out “bread, pasta and white sugar” helped her lose 50 pounds. “Do something you love” is her advice. “It helps you stay motivated.”
`` Cheryl Kenney shares her passion for zumba, leading classes at HUP three times a week.
“Do something you love!” Zumba has also done the trick for Cheryl Kenney of the Clinical and Translational Research Center, who leads the zumba classes. She discovered a passion for the exercise in June 2010, when weight-related health problems led her to change her lifestyle. She soon joined a team of zumba enthusiasts who have combined exercise with community outreach (raising money for organizations like the American Heart Association and the National MS Society). Kenney has lost — and kept off — 60 pounds. Most of the participants in her class have been coming since the sessions started last February. And Kenney fully understands why. “Zumba is not just a workout…. It’s a party.”
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`` Bernadette Tasker teaches patient family member Maryann DiNuncio how to properly perform CPR.
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Family Members Learn to Save Lives with
C•P•R
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) can double a victim’s chance of survival if provided immediately and effectively. Yet, less than one-third of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims receive CPR from an observer. To help more people learn CPR — and save more lives — HUP’s Center for Resuscitation is investigating a novel training model called the CPR Hospital-Initiated Training Project (CHIP). The initiative makes use of resources within the hospital — such as nurses and volunteers — to train family members of patients with high-risk cardiovascular factors, using a CPR Anytime Kit from the American Heart Association. The kit contains an instructional DVD and personal inflatable mannequin. “We’re examining whether people can learn CPR from a DVD as opposed to attending a class with a trained CPR-certified instructor,” said Audrey Blewer, MPH, project manager. Ben Abella, MD, is the study’s principal investigator. The multicenter study includes Pennsylvania Hospital and Penn Presbyterian as well as several other hospitals in the Delaware Valley. Bernadette Tasker, RN, BSN, of Founders 10, has led the effort at HUP, working with the unit’s support associates and volunteers. The unit’s conference room is set up with the DVD player on a cart and the CPR kits, she said, so the equipment can be wheeled anywhere on the unit. Tasker said she stays with the family member initially but “you know if you’re doing it right.
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To help us better understand the interests and needs of our readers, next month we’ll be conducting a HUPdate readership survey. The survey takes minutes to complete, and can be submitted online or by mail. Your responses will help us better tailor our publication and provide more of the content you want to read. Look for the survey in an upcoming issue.
You’ll hear a click when you depress the chest of the mannequin deep enough [two inches].” It’s not easy, though. “You have to do 100 of these compressions per minute,” she added. “People work up a sweat!” Each family can take a kit home with them, “to encourage them to watch the video again to improve skills,” said Blewer. So far more than 100 family members have received this training on Founders 10 and 11. Tasker has also educated all the nurses on these units to help identify potential families. If the three-year study proves this approach is a viable technique to learn CPR, then the training could be done with outside groups as well, Blewer said. “We could use the kits to train church or home-school groups and then they could train additional people. Our goal is to create a national model for equipping at-risk populations with the life-saving skill of CPR.” For more information, contact Blewer at audrey.blewer@uphs.upenn.edu or 215.662.6912.
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