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Getting to The Heart of The Matter
H aving a heart attack is a trau-
matic experience for the vic-
tim just as heart surgery is a traumatic
experience for the patient. Those
events are traumatic for more than
just the patients, however. And until
recently, while these patients were
being cared for, someone else was
being forgotten: the spouses and
children.
The Health Center's Cardiac Re-
habilitation Program has changed all
that. This program helps patients back
to health through exercise and educa-
tion and it also helps their spouses
and loved ones deal with what can be-
come drastic life changes.
"Heart disease affects the whole
family," says Dolly Bentley, cardiac ed-
ucation coordinator with the Office of
Health Promotion. "Many times
spouses feel frustrated and guilty over
what has happened."
The Cardiac Spouse Support
Group, which has been active since
October 1984, meets at 7 p.m. on the
fourth Tuesday of every month at the
Arbor Health Building in downtown
Plymouth. These meetings give
spouses the opportunity to share con-
cerns, learn more about cardiac prob-
lems and offer support that can only
be provided through experience.
"What the group seemed to want
initially was clarification," Bentley
says. "But as we talked it became ob-
vious many had the same problems
and concerns. For example, the entire
group admitted that on the first day
home from the hospital they woke up
in the middle of the night to see if
their spouse was still breathing."
According to Bentley, there are
four basic areas that need to be
agreed upon to help bring spouses
closer together following a heart at-
tack or heart surgery:
" Whose responsibility is it to take the
medication?
" Whose responsibility is it to change
dietary habits?
" Is there access to a spouse's doctor?
* Do both spouses recognize that
physical activities may have to be
limited?
"The closer they can come to-
gether in these four areas the easier
the changes will be on the marriage
and the family," Bentley says. "Many
times you feel that because you love
someone or are related to them you
can make them change-but you
can't."
Bentley would like to start an-
other support group in Ann Arbor.
She knows concerned spouses are
out there and she wants them to
know the help is there, too.
"We let them know they aren't
alone," Bentley says of the group.
"These people have truly been
helped by this group. Support group
members want more people to come
so they can help others."
For more information on the
group, please check the appropriate
box on the return-mail card. s
Investing in People: Health and Wealth in the Workplac
Y ou've heard about businesses
investing money into new
equipment in order to stay on top of
the technological pile. And in an era
of rapidly advancing technology, that's
important. For many companies,
however, there's more important ma-
chinery that's being forgotten-the
employees.
It sounds callous to liken em-
ployees to machines, but the parallel
is unmistakable. Just as a printing
press or a computer costs money to
repair, a sick employee costs the com-
pany in lost productivity and health
care. If a machine is kept in good
working order, the company's pro-
ductivity rises-and so do the profits.
More companies are realizing
how important it is to keep their em-
ployees healthy and happy. And many
times the first leads to the second.
Benefitting from wellness
in the workplace
Studies show that prevention is
more cost-effective for a company
than the treatment of illness. Eight out
of 10 leading causes of death and dis-
ability are linked to controllable per-
sonal health habits. These add up to
billions of dollars in medical ex-
penses, absenteeism and reduced
productivity Did you know:
" Heart disease costs employers $80
billion each year and is the leading
cause of death and chronic illness
in the United States? Smoking, high
blood pressure, obesity, high blood
cholesterol and lack of exercise are
controllable risk factors for heart
disease.
* Cigarette smokers average 114 per-
cent longer hospital stays, 40 per-
cent higher absenteeism and 23
percent higher health care costs
than non-smokers.
" Backaches cost business $1 billion
annually in lost productivity and
$250 million more in workers'
compensation.
Catherine McAuley Health Center
is doing its part to control those spi-
raling numbers. Through the Office
of Health Promotion, the Health Cen-
ter's Worksite Wellness Program can
help you and your employer identify
special physical fitness and health
risks where you work. The Office of
Health Promotion also designs a flexi-
ble education and follow-up program
tailored especially to your organiza-
tion's needs. We're helping you invest
your money wisely
Program opportunities
Because the Worksite Wellness
Program is so individualized, you
choose whatever services benefit you
and your organization most. You can
choose one course, like Smoke Stop-
pers, or you can choose a total well-
ness program. A total wellness
program takes you from health risk
appraisal (assessing your current life-
style and identifing areas for improve-
ment) through specific programs that
aim to help you live longer and
healthier.
According to the program's coor-
dinator, Mary Ann Jondle, a total
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