With a demographic trending well above the State median age, healthcare in Kent County has remained a top concern for residents and those seeking to relocate.
The specific needs of older adults are a challenge being met by the University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown after it transitioned into its Rural Hospital Designation in 2021 with a mission to encourage and teach people to keep up with a healthy lifestyle.
UM Shore Medical Center has launched free health workshops under the direction of Health Educator Jeanette Jeffrey, MS, MPH, MCHES. This unique outreach initiative, part of the hospital’s Aging and Wellness Center of Excellence directive, collaborates with local community partners like Washington College and the YMCA to develop and manage community health education programs like the current 6-session Chronic Disease Self-Management webinar.
The intensive two- and half-hour webinars are designed to “to help people who are living with chronic disease (i.e., hypertension, arthritis, chronic pain, COPD, congestive heart failure, diabetes, kidney disease and/or any other condition that affects one’s quality of life) manage their ongoing health condition.”
Jeffrey, certified as a Master Health Education Specialist arrived to the UM Shore Medical Center’s campus with a stellar background in health education: Extension Educator – Family and Consumer Sciences for the University of Maryland College of Agriculture and Natural Resources in Anne Arundel County; 1.5 years as Senior Health Education Consultant for Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group in Rockville and 13 years as Director and Professor of Public Health and Nutrition at Howard Community College in Columbia.
Jeffrey says that Webinar classes may be limited to participants and that people interested in the programs should check the UM Shore Regional Health website for upcoming topics and enrollments.
This video is approximately six minutes in length. To review and enroll in Fall Health for Life classes, please go here.
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