Exercise for Two…No Reservations Needed!

While Valentine’s Day has past, it’s never too late to gift yourself time with a friend or loved one! And while you’re at it, why not consider adding a healthy element to your time together? Kate Campbell, DPT, RVNAhealth Rehabilitation & Wellness Outpatient Practice Manager and Physical Therapist, recently shared a special “Valentine’s Day-edition” sample exercise program than can be done with a partner.

Why partner exercise? Partner exercise can be a great way to improve your physical and mental health, while also having fun and building a stronger bond with your partner. It drives benefits such as improved motivation and accountability, better results with partner help and encouragement, a boost in mood and mental health, and exercising with a partner can be more fun and enjoyable than exercising alone!

Campbell emphasizes the physical connection aspect of partner exercise. “Any kind of touch — skin to skin, hugging — anything like that does great things for our body. It lowers negative stress hormones like cortisol and norepinephrine. And it increases your oxytocin levels, which is that bonding hormone that makes moms and babies feel really close together. This in turn stimulates other feel good hormones like dopamine and serotonin and endorphins. Everyone wants those endorphins. It makes you feel good and happy, and it can even reduce pain. All of this can happen in your brain – just by simple touch!”

Checkout Campbell’s partner exercise video sampling here! (Spoiler alert, Kate still looks amazing in her wedding dress!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the end, it’s all about getting your body moving and enjoying the enhanced physical and mental health benefits of spending time with another person. And as the spring season and nice weather approach, don’t forget the benefits of a simple walk, hand in hand, of course!

P.S. – Kate would love to see your partner exercise posts on social media (Facebook or Instagram) or via email (kcampbell@rvnahealth.org)!
P.P.S – If you would enjoy receiving weekly communications on fitness topics, such as this, and other nutrition topics, you may subscribe HERE.

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services Wins Distinguished 2023 Leader in Experience Award

Congratulations to RVNAhealth’s StayingWELL Services division for winning the distinguished 2023 Best of Home Care – Leader in Experience Award from Home Care Pulse (HCP), the leading firm in experience management for home care. The Leader in Experience Award is the highest recognition awarded by HCP. It is given to select home care businesses that receive both HCP’s Provider of Choice and Employer of Choice awards – reflecting client and employee satisfaction ratings among the very highest in 10 or more quality metrics. As a Leader in Experience, RVNAhealth is now recognized among the top 15% of home care providers participating in the nationwide HCP Experience Management Program.

Committed to being the best in our field, RVNAhealth partnered with Home Care Pulse at the beginning of 2020 as part of an ongoing improvement initiative, to better understand the client and employee assistant experience.  As an independent third-party provider, Home Care Pulse collects candid and direct phone-interview feedback monthly from StayingWELL clients and employees in areas such as impact on daily life, communication, assistant ability, and client/assistant compatibility.

“Winning this top award category — the Leader in Experience award — is an incredible honor,” says Melissa Woodhouse, RRT, MOT, OTR/L, CDP, Director of StayingWELL Services. “I am proud of the efforts made by our team to listen to, and act on, the honest opinions and recommendations made by over 200 of our clients and employees in the past year. The feedback received continues to challenge us in raising the bar for delivering excellence in daily living assistance to our clients and offering a rewarding career to our employees. As one of only 12 participating home care agencies in Connecticut to receive this award, we are honored to be recognized.”

RVNAhealth StayingWELL Services provide non-medical at-home personal and household daily living assistance to help you retain independence and live safely, comfortably, and joyfully at home or wherever you reside. Available 365 days annually, for short- or long-term durations, our living assistants serve over 35 communities in Connecticut. To learn more, please visit https://rvnahealth.org/services/staying-well/ or call 203-438-5555.

A Tribute From Theresa Santoro To Claire Kirby…Town and RVNAhealth Treasure!

I’d like to express my own personal gratitude for a former RVNAhealth nurse, Claire Kirby. Claire passed away peacefully last week on our hospice services.

A favorite Claire Kirby photo, gracing the hallways of RVNAhealth in celebration of our 100th anniversary

Claire Kirby was employed at RVNAhealth for at least three decades. She did it all — from home health to community health and wellness. She was beloved by the agency and the entire community. She was that nurse who several referral sources, family members and patients themselves asked for… “By any chance, can we get Claire as our nurse?” Claire was an inspiration to all of us.

An old-school nurse who was direct yet caring. She had high expectations, yet was very understanding of human frailties. She lived across the street from me and for years, I’d watch her shovel her own snow, rake her own leaves, and do her own home repairs. She was in her 70’s and 80’s at the time! It was exhausting just watching her. I wanted to be Claire Kirby when I grew up.

Claire was so well known that when she retired, the Town of Ridgefield threw her a town-wide retirement party at The Community Center. It was a packed event.

During the time of her retirement (2001) we were working out of 90 East Ridge. It was a time when nurses had to come to the office every day to collect paper charts, check in with their supervisor and document their notes. We all had personal cubbies to call our own and to work from.

For weeks after Claire’s retirement, we’d walk past her empty cubbie and feel such a loss. It was hallowed ground! I was a relatively new full time RN case manager and, after some time, was assigned to Claire’s cubbie. It felt like I was getting Derek Jeter’s locker! I was thrilled and felt honored. From the day I took her seat, I aspired to be like her: humble, strong, and compassionate.

Claire volunteering at her final RVNAhealth blood pressure clinic — with Ridgefield First Selectman, Rudy Marconi

While she retired in 2001, Claire was never one to sit still. She continued to volunteer her time at our health fairs and blood pressure clinics until 2014.

Claire, thank you for all you did for RVNAhealth and this community. We are forever grateful. And we are honored to have provided our full spectrum of care back to you over the past decade.

To the members of our home health, rehabilitation, home care, and hospice teams who cared for Claire: thank you for the wonderful care you provided this special lady at the end of her life. I know that her family is extremely appreciative.

Gratefully,
Theresa Santoro, MSN, RN, CHCA
RVNAhealth President & CEO

Volunteer Training: A Gift for Life

“The experience is a game changer,” says Ridgefield resident Maureen Bohrer (below, right), referring to the 16-hour training she attended as part of her RVNAhealth hospice volunteer orientation. While some prospective hospice volunteers find the hours daunting, Bohrer considers it a gift.Continue reading