MANALAPAN — This spring, the Manalapan Health Department facilitated a program for residents with chronic disease ailments, and the department is looking to do it again in the fall.
During a roughly two-month period beginning in April, residents participated in the free Stanford University Chronic Disease Self-Management Program called “Take Control of Your Health.”
Led by trained Manalapan MRC-CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) members Lisa Ipaktchi and Emily Criscione, residents with chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes and depression were taught how to manage symptoms, do exercises for strength and endurance, communicate needs to family and doctors, and complete daily tasks easier, according to a press release.
The program was aided by a grant from the state health department, said Sophia Jozil, health educator for a consortium of Monmouth County communities.
Jozil, who trained Ipaktchi and Criscione to lead the program, said the participants gained support from each other.
“People learn they are not alone and that their diagnosis is not the end,” she said.
Ipaktchi cited the empowerment the program gave its participants.
“They [the participants] learn to be a partner with their health care provider to control their chronic condition instead of allowing their chronic condition to control their life.”
Ipaktchi hopes the skills participants learn in the workshops will help them to lead “healthy, more active, and fulfilling” lives.
Ipaktchi and Criscione would like to reach more residents with another program in the fall, although Criscione cites a need for an accommodating location and transportation for participants who no longer drive.
Manalapan health officer David Richardson may be reached at 732-446- 8345 for more information.