Springfield Medical offers free wellness classes in Chester, Springfield

Springfield Medical Care Systems is offering several health and wellness classes during May. These are free and open to the public. For more information or to register, contact Sarah Doyle at the SMCS Community Health Team by email at: sdoyle@springieldmed.org, or call 802-886-8946. The schedule is as follows:

Learning to Live Well with Diabetes meets Thursdays, May 7 to 28 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. This four-week educational series about diabetes offers an opportunity for individuals newly diagnosed or pre-diabetes to learn about the best strategies to manage it successfully. The class will cover what diabetes, pre-diabetes is, the use of goal setting and action planning, nutrition, physical activity, stress management, monitoring of blood sugar, medications and preventing risk of complication. This program meets at Chester Family Medicine at the Ellsworth Memorial Health Center, 55 Route 11 (W. Main St.), Chester, and will be led by a  certified diabetes educator.

Weight Loss and Wellness for Adults meets at Springfield Health Center, 100 River St., Springfield on Wednesdays, May 6 through June 3 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. This weight loss and wellness program helps adults looking to lose or maintain weight, in a healthy way, assisted by a registered dietitian nutritionist and the support of other program participants. Topics addressed include physical activity, appetite regulation, emotional eating, combating food cravings, meal planning and behavior modification tools.

Eat, Live, Local—Shopping Tour: A tour of the local food co-op focusing on the benefits of shopping local meets at Springfield Co-op, 335 River St., Springfield on Wednesday, May 20 from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m.

Healthier Living with Diabetes—Special Incentive Class will meet at Springfield Health Center, 100 River St. in Springfield on Tuesdays May 26 to June 30 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. For those seeking a in-depth program on diabetes self-management, this workshop helps people learn to manage their diabetes. Significant others and caregivers are also invited. As a special incentive, participants in this program earn one free day pass to the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center for each class attended.

Tobacco Cessation—Special Incentive Class meets at Springfield Health Center, 100 River St., Springfield and is held on Thursdays, May 28 to June 18, from 5:30–6:30 pm. Many insurance companies will pay for smoking cessation treatments, such as nicotine patches or gum after taking a cessation class. As a special incentive, participants in this program earn one free day pass to the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center for each class attended.