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Heart of New Ulm begins holding heart health screenings for thousandsThe Heart of New Ulm project – with its aggressive goal of reducing and eventually eliminating heart attacks in the New Ulm area – got out of the gate in April with the beginnings of heart health screenings that will stretch on through the summer and fall. In the end, the goal is to have screened as many adults as possible in New Ulm.  Deanna Bulthuis helps Mervin J. Ingebritson, professor emeritus of Martin Luther College (MLC), complete the questionnaire that is one of the steps during the Heart of New Ulm project health screening. Ingebritson attended the first heart health screening that took place at MLC in April. Many more screenings are being scheduled throughout the summer.
The very first screening occurred at Martin Luther College, where almost 200 staff, faculty, retirees and spouses were screened. “We learned a lot at the first screening and have refined the system so that we’re able to get people in and out within 30 minutes,” said Pieser. “The process moves much more quickly if a person prints the questionnaire from the website (www.heartofnewulm.org) and completes it before they arrive for their screening.” That first screening was followed quickly by screening of staff, physicians and their spouses at New Ulm Medical Center. The first screening open to the public was held May 15 and 16 at Vogel Arena. Other worksite screenings have been held at Windings, J&R Schugel, AMPI (both at the corporate offices and at the butter plant), City of New Ulm, Design Home Centers, and Southpoint Federal Credit Union. After so many weeks of planning, the Heart of New Ulm staff has enjoyed putting the process into place and discussing the project with community members at the screenings. “People are so excited about this project – the enthusiasm is really contagious,” Pieser said. “We hear from many people at the screenings that they feel very lucky that New Ulm was chosen for this project.” At the screenings, participants will fill out a questionnaire, which includes family and personal health history, and lifestyle indicators. Staff measure the participant’s blood pressure, weight, height, waist circumference, draw blood and review their Heart of New Ulm Lifestyle Score. The Lifestyle Score indicates, on a scale from 0-10, how optimal a person’s lifestyle choices are in terms of maintaining their health. All of the data gathered is used to create wellness activities and clinical interventions based on the needs identified. The data is strictly confidential and only aggregate data is used for reporting in the study. Based on initial results they’re seeing at the screenings, Registered Dietitian Rebecca Fliszar and Health Educator Holly Glaubitz say one pattern emerging already is relatively low fruit and vegetable consumption. Glaubitz and Fliszar are two of the people discussing screening results with participants’ onsite. They help each individual screened develop an action plan to improve their health and, if needed, connect them to various resources within the community for further support. “Increasing your consumption of fruits and vegetables is a small step, but it’s an easy thing people can start doing right away and, long term, it’s something that can have a big impact on your health,” said Fliszar. That immediate chance to help people down the road to better health is a very exciting opportunity for the Heart of New Ulm team, she said. “That’s what this project is all about.” For more information about the Heart of New Ulm project, go to www.heartofnewulmorg and join the Heart of New Ulm Facebook Group at www.facebook.com.  Back to Health Edition |
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New Ulm Medical Center
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