June 2022 LBD PCN Newsletter

 Our June 2022 LBD PCN Newsletter is here! Click the subscribe button inside the newsletter to receive this quarterly newsletter to your email inbox. 

The LBD PCN currently does not have any doctors accepting new patients

 

COVID-19 and the LBD PCN

 Even though Alberta has lifted indoor masking requirements, masks are still required in a healthcare facility. All patients, guests, and staff will be provided with a new medical mask when they enter the PCN office.

March 2022 Leduc Beaumont Devon PCN Newsletter

 Our March 2022 Leduc Beaumont Devon PCN Newsletter is now available!

Don't forget to subscribe to this quarterly newsletter so you can stay informed of everything happening at the PCN.

Nurse Practitioner Week

 November 7-13 is Nurse Practitioner Week!

It's Nurse Practitioner Week! Our PCN has two amazing Nurse Practitioners to celebrate - Marilyn, who provides care to the patients at Calmar Medical Clinic, and Michelle, who runs both the Warburg Nurse Practitioner Clinic and Thorsby Nurse Practitioner Clinic. Thank you both for all you do for the PCN, your patients, and the communities you serve!

November is Diabetes Awareness Month

November is Diabetes Awareness Month! 

Did you know that 1 in 3 Canadians are living with diabetes or prediabetes? So many lives are touched by this chronic disease, yet so few Canadians know they are at risk for developing diabetes. 

What is Diabetes?

It’s a chronic disease where the body cannot make enough insulin or cannot use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps to control blood sugars. A high amount of sugar in the blood can damage organs, blood vessels, and nerves over a long period.  

Are you at risk?

Not much is known about definite risk factors for Type 1 Diabetes, but there are quite a few risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes. Some we can have some control over, but some we cannot. 

Here’s a list of risk factors for developing Type 2 Diabetes:

• Have a parent, brother, or sister living with diabetes.

• Member of a high-risk group (Indigenous, Hispanic, South Asian, Asian, African descent)

• Have given birth to a baby weighing more than 4kg or 9lb

• Have had gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy)

• Prediabetes diagnosis

• Have high blood pressure

• Have high cholesterol  or high blood fats

• Have extra weight around the abdomen, overweight

• Have polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis

• Have acanthosis nigricans diagnosis

• Have obstructive sleep apnea diagnosis

• Have diagnosed psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, depression

Ask your doctor to test if you have diabetes if you are over 40 years old or if you have several risk factors after taking this risk test: https://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/en/canrisk

Don’t have a doctor?  Find one here: www.albertafindadoctor.ca

Fight the Risk

Here are some healthy habit ideas that can help lower your risk of diabetes:

• Eat a high fibre breakfast every day

• Eat 1 cup of vegetables at each of your meals

• Eat 2-3 servings of fruit each day (1 serving =0.5 cups or tennis ball size piece of fruit)  

• Go for a 10-15 minute walk at lunch every day

• Try deep breathing or visualization technique to manage your stress or check out other stress management techniques at https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/tests-treatments/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=rlxsk&

Your Team

You have a team of Registered Dietitians, an Exercise Specialist, Registered Nurses, Behavioural Health Consultants and Mental Health Therapists that can support your health journey through the Team-Based Care program at the PCN.  You can access this team for support by asking for a referral from your family doctor.  

From daily pain to daily gain – how accessing the right care changed a life

From daily pain to daily gain – how accessing the right care changed a life

 

Lynn had been dealing with discomfort in her legs and feet for several years and, like many, chalked it up to the joys of ageing. She became used to not sleeping because of the pain running down her legs and feet at night and feeling miserable all day from the pain. As the intensity of the pain grew, it affected every aspect of her life. She stopped doing activities she once enjoyed because the pain was too much. It wasn’t an excuse for not exercising; it was a definite reason not to remain physically active. Like many, she felt like rest would help, when in fact, it did the opposite. “The more I did nothing, the worse the pain was,” remembers Lynn. She was quick to add that doing nothing was the worse thing she could have done.

Lynn lived with this hardship much longer than she needed to. She didn’t want to sit around any longer, watching the pain take over her life. Hoping for relief, she went to a massage therapist. The massage therapist suggested a chiropractor instead. Lynn found herself at the chiropractor’s office three times a week and felt even sorer after each visit. X-rays showed arthritis had set in. She tried the fixes she knew about first, but massage and chiro were not helping. Lynn eventually talked to her family doctor, who recognized the type of support Lynn needed and recommended she see Adrien, the exercise specialist at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network (PCN).

Even though the doctor’s referral was sent to the PCN when COVID-19 first appeared in Alberta, and we faced our first period of business shutdowns and self-quarantine, Lynn was able to see the PCN exercise specialist right away and in-person at the PCN office. Lynn was put through a complete exam of her back, hips, posture, and gait analysis, given coordination and balance tests, as well as manual muscle testing for her lower body. Adrien determined that Lynn’s symptoms were valid, and she was suffering a high level of pain, considering the severity of her symptoms. Following the assessment, Adrien provided Lynn with specific exercises known as the McGill Big 3 for core strengthening and online workout videos, specifically certain ones Adrien has posted on the LBD PCN YouTube channel.

Adrien provided Lynn with the tools she needed to start on the path back to health. Adrien prescribed exercise, and, in Lynn’s words, even though she doesn’t like being told what to do sometimes, she took Adrien’s advice and got to work. Lynn committed to exercising every day, and after only about 6 weeks, she is thrilled to say that the constant pain is gone. If she tweaks something or moves too quickly the wrong way, she can feel it still there, but the daily pain is no longer. Lynn only had to see Adrien at the PCN twice; that’s all it took for Lynn to understand what she needed to do.

Both Lynn and Adrien are happy with her progress and agree that she doesn’t need to continue coming to the PCN, “I’m done with him,” Lynn laughs, referring to Adrien and his expert advice and support. She was prepared with the knowledge and tools Adrien provided, including teaching Lynn to be accountable to herself. “Sometimes things go sideways in life, and we need someone to tell us what to do to get back on track,” Adrien assured Lynn that if she ever needs help again, the PCN door is always open.

Lynn is grateful that her family doctor referred her to see Adrien at the PCN and thrilled he could help her out of a life of pain and misery. “Adrien gave me the tools and a plan for managing my pain. My gains are achieved through exercise and sticking to it. I am grateful for his inspiration and knowledge and will take them forward with me as I continue to grow stronger.”

If you would like to access the Exercise Specialist’s services at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network, please talk to your family doctor, and ask for a referral.

PEACE & LOVE > RICE

Listen to our Exercise Specialist talk about best research for current recovery from soft tissue injuries. You may have heard of the RICE method for recovery management - Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation - but have you heard of PEACE & LOVE? Adrien walks us through why this new acronym for injury management, which follows a progressive movement through the process of injury to recovery, is a greatly superior method of tissue injury management. Click on the image below to watch Adrien explain PEACE & LOVE.

Follow our YouTube Channel for more advice from Adrien!

December 2020 PCN Newsletter

Our December 2020 PCN Newsletter is now live!

Inside you will learn about:

• holiday closures
• upcoming workshops and classes
• face masks at the PCN
• a new program for those with hip and/or knee osteoarthritis (GLA:D Canada)
• Prescription To Get Active and online/streaming options
• at-home workout videos from our Exercise Specialist
• resources available on our website likeCXXX
• Thorsby and Warburg Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic
• COVID-19 support

and more! Please subscribe to our newsletter so you can receive them right in your inbox. The next one will come out in March 2021.

Overview of the 24-hour Movement Guidelines for people ages 18-64 from the Leduc Beaumont Devon PCN Exercise Specialist

 24-hour Movement Guidelines for people ages 18-64: An integration of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and sleep.

As an exercise physiologist who practices in the field of chronic disease management, I often have conversations with patients about increasing daily physical activity. Although beneficial overall, and depending on the individual, simply adding some physical activity to their day is not enough to truly produce the ideal level of heathy change for that person. These guidelines created by the Canadian Society of Exercise Physiology (CSEP) are now available to help provide specifics to answer that question for patients.

The guidelines themselves can be broken down to a few specific categories to ensure a “healthy 24 hours”. These include physical activity, sleep, and sedentary behaviours, or time spend inactive or sitting.

Physical Activity

Beginning with physical activity, the recommendations continue to include 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous aerobic physical activity added up throughout your week as well as muscle strengthening exercises for your major muscle groups two times per week. It is important to keep in mind these recommendations are for an individual that does not have any medical conditions or disabilities that would prevent their ability to reach these activities levels. If an individual is not able to reach these guidelines from a medical standpoint, they should consult with their health care team to determine appropriate levels of physical activity. This also includes several ours of light physical activity such as standing, which I will speak more on later.

Sleep

The 24-hour Movement Guidelines recommends 7-9 hours of sleep, which includes regular wake and sleep cycles. This continues to follow the current guidelines and remains the gold standard for sleep goals.

Sedentary Behaviour

This is the time spent being inactive such as sitting at a desk, watching TV or sitting in front of a screen. CSEP currently recommends limiting sedentary behaviour to 8 hours or less per day with goals of less than 3 hours of screen time a day, and breaking up long periods of sedentary positions as much as possible; I always tell my patients to try not to sit for more than an hour at a time.

It is important to discuss how people can implement these guidelines and why the recommendations are what they are. Sleep is self explanatory, but I believe these guidelines truly shine when reviewing the recommendations for physical activity and sedentary behaviour.

The get the biggest benefit from the guidelines, people should try and create a goal of turning more sedentary time into beneficial light activities such as standing, walking, moving, and progressing times you may be performing these light activities into more moderate of vigorous activities. Progressing these activities in your day increases the amount of time you spend moving each day, the calories that you burn, and helps your body adapt to being more physically active. When progressing sedentary time to light activity times such as standing, it helps increase what is called NEAT which stands for Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, NEAT is defined as the energy spent for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise. It ranges from the energy spent walking to work, typing on a computer, performing yard work, doing yard work or gardening, and even fidgeting. The more you can move outside of planned times for physical activity, the higher your NEAT and the more calories you will burn and the greater, overall likelihood of positive health outcomes.

It is important to realize these are 24-hour movement guidelines and not physical activity guidelines. These new guidelines help to promote a greater range of activities per day, while emphasizing sleep and reducing sedentary behaviour and continuing to support the previous physical activity guidelines as provided by CSEP.

~ Adrien DeGroot BHK, CSEP-CEP, R.Kin, CSEP - High Performance Specialist, is an Exercise Specialist at the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network. To access his services, please ask your PCN family doctor for a referral.

To view and participate in Adrien's at-home workouts, please check out our LBD PCN YouTube channel.

Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network relaunch

Registered Nurses

Registered Dietitians

Exercise Specialist

Mental Health Therapists

Behavioural Health Consultants

All of our Team-Based Care providers, Leduc Eldercare Consultation team and visiting specialist are now offering in-person appointments for those who would like to come see them in the office. Of course, telephone and video appointments are still available as well.

For more information on our relaunch, visit our website.

June is Recreation and Parks Month!

In support of June is Recreation and Parks Month and our friends at the City of Leduc, our PCN Exercise Specialist Adrien encourages you to get outside and discover all of the recreation opportunities in Leduc. In this short video, Adrien shows you to the outdoor fitness area at William F. Lede park near Telford Lake.

For more information about the outdoor fitness area, please visit: https://www.leduc.ca/william-f-lede-park/lede-park-outdoor-fitness-area

Help with sciatic nerve pain

Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network Exercise Specialist Adrien shows you some stretches and exercises for those with sciatic nerve pain, also called sciatica. You will need a chair and a stool or step for this activity. Coach Luna keeps an eye on Adrien and approves of his techniques.

Watch the video by clicking the image, below.

If you are new to physical activity, if you are returning to physical activity after injury or illness, or if you have a medical condition that might make physical activity difficult, please consult with your family doctor before starting a physical activity program. Adrien also suggests that if you are at risk of falls, please have someone present with you while you do the falls prevention exercises.

If you have questions for Adrien, please add a comment on our YouTube channel. Also, please subscribe to our channel so you can get notification as Adrien adds more videos.

June 2020 newsletter now available

Our June 2020 newsletter is now available! In this edition, you will learn about:

- how our Team-Based Care and Leduc Eldercare Consultation Team are seeing patients

- resources available to you online

- our exercise specialist's workout videos

- our new Warburg Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic (opens TODAY!)

- COVID-19 supports

and more! Read the newsletter, here.

Warburg Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic opens June 1

Nurse Practitioner clinic to open in Warburg June 1

Announced earlier this year, the underserviced towns of Thorsby and Warburg, and their surrounding communities, are going to be receiving primary care support from a dedicated Nurse Practitioner (NP). Michelle Williams, NP, has been hired by the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network (LBD PCN) through a grant provided by the Government of Alberta via the Nurse Practitioner Support Program.

After months of preparation, the Warburg Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic is now ready to serve the community.

Clinic hours will be:

Monday, Wednesday, Friday

9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Closed for lunch between 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. and on statutory holidays

To contact the clinic for a meet and greet, please call:

825-320-3000

(825 is an Alberta area code that was introduced in 2016 and covers the entire province)

·       The clinic space has been provided by and is located in the Village of Warburg office.

·       The entrance to the clinic and parking for clinic patients is located at the back of the village building.

·       Those with limited mobility can access to the elevator by entering the building through the front office door; a ramp is available.

·       Funding for the NP clinical administrator has been provided by the County of Leduc.

Michelle will provide health services to individuals, families, and communities including health promotion, disease and injury prevention, and treatment of acute and chronic illness. NPs provide healthcare that is grounded in nursing care and includes the physical, emotional, social, and psychological aspects of your health. NPs can:

·       Diagnose and treat illness and injury

·       Perform physical examinations and screening interventions

·       Order and interpret diagnostic tests, such as lab tests and x-rays

·       Provide counselling and education

·       Refer you to other healthcare professionals and specialists

·       Prescribe medications

·       Manage chronic diseases such as diabetes, COPD and asthma

• ·       Provide palliative care

The Thorsby Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic will be located in the Thorsby Public Health Centre and is expected to open in June. In the meantime, Thorsby residents are welcome to book appointments at the Warburg clinic.

To read the previous news releases, please click here and here.

For more information, please see the attached FAQ or see the contacts available, below.

To find out about programs and services offered at the LBD PCN, please see our website.

If you have any questions about this program or how to access it, please contact the PCN.

March 2020 LBD PCN Newsletter

Our March 2020 Newsletter is here! Items in this edition:

• Dedicated health care provider secured for Thorsby and Warburg
• Automated appointment reminder system
• Classes and Workshops
• Leduc Business Expo
• Patient experience survey
• AlbertaFindADoctor.ca
• March is Nutrition Month!
• Prescription To Get Active
• Patient's Medical Home
• We want to hear from you!
• Lived Experiences
• Connect with us on social media!

Read the edition by clicking here.

Click the subscribe button inside the newsletter to receive your copy in your inbox.

Stand Up To Falls

We have a new class offered at the PCN!

For more information and to register: http://lbdpcn.com/Pages/Event-Details.aspx?EventID=102&EventSeriesID=225&

December 2019 PCN Newsletter

Our December 2019 Newsletter is now available for your reading pleasure!

Find out about:

• PCN and Leduc After-Hours Clinic holiday hours
• How an Exercise Specialist can support you
• www.AlbertaFindADoctor.ca website
• January - June 2020 health education classes at the PCN
• Holiday eating tips
• The Patient's Medical Home and what continuity means
• How to get your own Naloxone kit

Click here to read the December 2019 PCN Newsletter. Click the blue Subscribe button inside the newsletter to receive future editions right to your inbox. 

Fall 2019 Workshops

Please note of a date change Taking Charge: Daily Management of Type 2 Diabetes - it's been rescheduled to October 10th.

Important changes at the PCN

Based on recent feedback and research, the LBD PCN is restructuring its programs and services to meet the growing needs of our communities.

The chronic disease management program (SMILE) and mental health program have merged together to form the Team-Based Care Program. As part of this merge, some of our programs and services will be changing.

These new services will soon be available:

- COPD and asthma support
- Mental health support for youth
- Extended hours at our PCN office in Leduc
- Healthcare providers will now be offered in many of our member clinics. Please talk to your family physician for details.

These services have been suspended until restructuring has occurred (please contact the PCN for more information):

- Tobacco cessation support
- Insulin starts

These services are no longer offered:

- Medication reviews
- Psychological support to bariatric patients

Our healthcare professionals are working to transition affected patients to services within the community. Our team is committed to ensuring a smooth transition and look forward to adding value to our programs and services.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Regards, 

Candra Tinis | Communications Lead

Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network

#301 4710 - 50th Street

Leduc, AB  T9E 6W2

Phone: (780) 986-6624