Prevention Programs
TBRHSC Fresh Market
Fresh, healthy and local produce and products are only a few steps away at our Hospital from June to October at the TBRHSC Fresh Market. This annual event features Thunder Bay’s local farmers who bring their produce and products to our Hospital to sell onsite.
The health benefits of the TBRHSC Fresh Market include: access to new recipes that feature local food, education about new vegetables and fruits that are less common but very healthy, information on proper food storage and preparation, information about the health benefits of various vegetables and fruits and the chance to speak with our local farmers. There is a wide range of produce and products available throughout the harvest season, including: garlic scapes, kale, arugula, salad mixes, peas, beans, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, zucchini, squash, pumpkins, eggs and more!
Healthy Get-Together
The Healthy Get-Together is a free bimonthly education workshop that features popular chronic disease prevention topics and gives you the tools to help you make healthy changes in your life. It’s one thing to read about how to exercise or eat healthy, but it’s another to sit in a room with an expert and be given the tools that you need to succeed.
Our favourite part of the Healthy Get-Together speaker series is learning about chronic disease prevention strategies and healthy living in a fun and engaging way. For example, in the past we have done sessions on how to grow your own food or build a garden. Both of these skills will help you to eat healthy, locally grown foods. Other topics have ranged from time management and space organization, to creating and maintaining positive relationships, learning about healthy green foods, and showcasing our local conservation areas where you can go for a hike.
Each Healthy Get-Together workshop is 1 hour in length and features a guest speaker from our Hospital’s staff or a community expert.
TBRHSC Staff Health and Wellness Calendar
Each year we strive to lead the healthiest life possible, and that’s what inspires our annual TBRHSC Staff Health and Wellness Calendar.
Each month, our calendar features a healthy theme and a diverse cross-section of our staff who share their ways of being healthy, including: running marathons or taking vacation time from work to maintain a healthy work-life balance. One of the most popular features of the calendar is that each month also features our staff showing off their culinary skills and creativity by sharing their favourite healthy recipe.
The calendar has been a popular handout for all staff, volunteers, and members of the public.
Staff Mindfulness and Relaxation Classes
Mindfulness and Relaxation Classes are available for our Hospital staff. Staff enjoy 30 minute group sessions over lunch time where they learn how to calm their minds and do gentle stretching. Staff leave feelings refreshed and energized, ready to take on the rest of their day! Note: Mindfulness sessions are on hold due to the pandemic.
Click here to view a five, fifteen, or thirty minute breathing space video of our ‘Namaste with Dave’ mindfulness classes.
Staff Exercise Classes
Exercise classes are offered at our Hospital for staff by professional certified fitness and yoga instructors. Classes run in different locations on-site at our Hospital, allowing participants to be physically active throughout their week without having to leave their workplace. Note: Exercise classes are on hold due to the pandemic.
Healthy Living and Cancer Prevention & Screening Series
Prevention and Screening Clinical Services launched the Healthy Living and Cancer Prevention & Screening Series in 2015 to offer ongoing education and awareness about chronic disease prevention, cancer prevention and screening for Indigenous communities, partners and organizations through Northwestern Ontario. In the past, these presentations have been offered through Knet/OTN and now, take place virtually through Webex every other month.
For more information about Healthy Living and Cancer Prevention & Screening Series events contact:
Susan Bale
bales@tbh.net
Chronic Disease Management Programs
Wellness and Exercise Program for Individuals Living with Cancer (WE-Can®)
The Wellness and Exercise Program for Individuals with Cancer (WE-Can) is a 10-week wellness and exercise program for individuals living with cancer. Research has shown that regular physical activity can help to prevent chronic disease, but it has also shown that for people who have cancer it can help to improve strength, fitness, mood, quality of life, and manage treatment-related symptoms.
This evidence-based program offers:
- Supervision by certified exercise professionals
- Individualized exercise programs
- A safe, private and small group environment
- Positive social support network with others undergoing, or who have undergone, similar cancer experiences.
WE-Can® is available for patients of Regional Cancer Care Northwest at our Hospital who are in active treatment or up to 5 years post-treatment. A referral from your oncologist or primary care provider is required. An assessment will be conducted by program staff to determine your suitability for the program.
For more information, call (807) 684-7221 or email wecan@tbh.net
WE-Can® brochure 2019
Healthy Change Program
The Healthy Change Program is a chronic conditions self-management program designed to empower you to gain confidence in managing your disease. Learn effective tips and strategies that will help you improve your quality of life. The program runs as a 6-week workshop that is available in many communities across Northwestern Ontario and is coordinated through the Northwest LHIN.At the workshops you will learn about how to live well while dealing with conditions such as: diabetes, lupus, heart disease, arthritis, lung disease, cancer, arthritis, stroke, fibromyalgia, depression, and other long-term health issues. Each week, the workshop will focus on a different aspect that will help to improve your well-being.
Prevention messages:
- The best way to fight chronic disease and illness is to prevent it.
- Adults, ages 18 to 64, should accumulate 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each week.
- Before starting an exercise program, you should talk to your doctor.
- Being active for at least 150 minutes per week can reduce the risk of chronic disease and premature death.
- Physical activity can lead to improved fitness, strength, and mental health.
- Eat at least one dark green and one orange vegetable each day.
- Have vegetables and fruit more often than juice.
- Select lean meats and trim visible fat from meats.
- A single cigarette contains more than 4,000 chemicals.
- The single best thing you can do for your health is to live smoke-free.
- Most people who smoke have thought about quitting or want to quit.
- Smoking is not a habit, it is an addiction to nicotine.
- Find your work-life balance.
- Get screened for cancer!
- Adults should get 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.
