Sheboygan Senior Activity Center Hosts Workshops

Take a moment and look around you. Half of all Americans live with at least one chronic disease, and 28 percent of us have two or more. Arthritis alone affects 50 million Americans and is now the most common cause of disability. Across the nation, health care costs associated with chronic diseases make up 75 percent of the $2 trillion spent on health care each year. This means 145 million of us can learn how to manage our symptoms and adopt healthy behaviors to help reduce the personal and societal burden of our diseases.

Living with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, depression and even migraines does not automatically mean a lifetime of misery and suffering. We can learn to self-manage our conditions, while learning to communicate more effectively with our doctors, peers and loved ones by participating in evidence-based selfmanagement workshops, such as Living Well with Chronic Conditions or Healthy Living with Diabetes. These, among others, were developed by Stanford University and have high success rates for participants.

They are designed to be taught in a small group of 10 to 12 people and are led in a structured manner by trained leaders who have chronic conditions themselves. These low-cost workshops are offered once a week for six weeks and are designed to complement, not replace, clinical treatment and disease-specific education programs.

There are approximately 400,000 adults in Wisconsin and 4,500 children and adolescents with diabetes. This does not include the 1.45 million adults statewide with pre-diabetes. Learning ways to eat more healthfully, fun ways to get active, safe foot care, how to prevent and delay complications, how to prevent low blood sugar, and tips for talking with your healthcare team and family by attending a Healthy Living with Diabetes workshop can help reduce the $4.07 billion in direct costs

spent annually in Wisconsin.

Research shows that these interactive workshops may help participants reduce pain, depression, fear and frustration they feel because of their conditions, as well as improve their mobility, increase energy and build self-efficacy in their ability to manage their condition. Participants are likely to increase their involvement in activities they once enjoyed, as well as have fewer trips to emergency rooms, fewer hospitalizations and shorter stays when hospitalized.

Those with chronic conditions are often faced with new challenges, limitations, or unfamiliar situations and routines, and this can all seem very overwhelming. Both workshops are great places to learn how to self-manage the condition( s) that are with you every single day.

Healthy Living with Diabetes will be held at 12:30 – 3 p.m. on Mondays, Nov. 13 – Dec. 18. Living Well with Chronic Conditions will be held at 12:30 – 3 p.m. on Mondays, Jan. 8 – Feb. 12. Both workshops will be held at the Senior Activity Center of Sheboygan, 428 Wisconsin Avenue, in Sheboygan.

However, you do NOT need to be a senior to attend. These classes are open to anyone who could benefit from them. Space is limited, so please call (920) 4593290 to register. For information, go to sheboygan seniorcenter.com, contact Wendy Schmitz by email wendy.schmitz@sheboyganwi.gov or phone (920) 459-3287, or contact Kerri Robertson by email kerri.robertson @sheboyganwi.gov or phone (920) 459-3282.


Kerri Robertson is the assistant supervisor of the Senior Activity Center of Sheboygan and a member of the Sheboygan County Activity and Nutrition (SCAN) Committee.