“Working Together for a Healthier Sitka” took place on Thursday and Friday, April 26-27, at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Participants learned how lifestyle changes can add years to their lives. Noted author and nationally known expert on prevention and wellness Steven Aldana, PhD, was the guest speaker. The summit was sponsored by Sitka Community Hospital, the SouthEast Alaska Regional Health Consortium (SEARHC) and the SEARHC Steps to a Healthier SE Alaska program, with representatives from most of Sitka’s major health providersserving on the steering committee that planned the event.

The highlight of the two-day summit was community dinner and awards ceremony sponsored by Premera Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alaska. Dr. Aldana gave a presentation “10-20 Years of Extra Life — The Choice is Yours,” and copies of his book “The Culprit and the Cure” were given to each participant. Several community wellness champion/role model awards were presented before Dr. Aldana’s presentation.

A “Bringing It All Together-Next Steps” round-table luncheon co-sponsored by Paula Scott Insurance Services and the SEARHC Steps to a Healthier SEAlaska program set priorities for work until tghe next summit. In addition to a brief talk by Dr. Aldana, this event featured a moderated discussion about how Sitka can implement the changes needed to become a healthier community.

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After a series of lectures and workshops on community wellness, a diverse group of Sitka's leaders developed and extensive list of projects that would lead to improved wellness in Sitka. Those were then ranked, and the top four will become focused action areas for the next year. Read the full list.

Top 4 priority areas to help Sitka achieve its vision of community wellness

1.) Create a bike and pedestrian friendly community
2.) Improve nutritional environment in schools
3.) Promote / develop / create a community wellness and recreation center
4.) Bring employers and insurance companies together to improve the health status of employees in Sitka

These four areas were further explored by the group, with some key partners and "Next Steps" identified: (click on topic to open, click again to close)

Health Care Awards

• Don Lehmann, M.D. — honored for his work with the Alaska Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and his work getting speakers for the summer symposium the group hosts in Sitka, and for the hours he has volunteers with local sports teams.
• Ron Fribush, M.D. — honored for his advocacy efforts to reduce secondhand smoke in the community and for being an advocate for healthy lifestyles.
• Rose MacIntyre — honored for her work as a dental hygienist and her work educating patients and students about healthy choices and snacks.

Community Awards

Physical Activity

• Alice Machesney —honored for being a role model as she rows from her island home to town, bikes around Sitka and then plays the accordion on almost a daily basis.
• David Kanosh — honored for being a role model as he frequently doubles the recommended goal of 10,000 steps a day during his walks about town.
• Keet Gooshi Heen Wednesday Walkers — this school program is honored for walking the approximate distance from the Tongass to Olympic National Park, a distance of 1,440 miles, and now is on the way to the Grand Canyon and then the Everglades.
• Sitka Trail Works — honored for its commitment to creating a wonderful network of trails around Sitka, including the Thimbleberry to Heart Lake Trail that opens on Saturday, May 5.

Nutrition

• Pacific High School Lunch Program — this program is honored for dramatically improving student nutrition with its switch to whole grains and the increased availability of fresh fruit and vegetables every day, a switch that’s also made for more attentive students.
• Diane Matteson — honored for adding nutritional choices to the Basement Bistro at the Sitka Community Hospital, including more fresh fruits and vegetables for employee lunches, an oatmeal bar at breakfast and a fruit plate snack alternative.

Tobacco Prevention and Control

• Pat Svetlak — honored for her efforts to take ANB Hall for Sitka Camp No. 1 completely tobacco-free, which helped launch a movement that made all ANB/ANS Halls tobacco-free.
• Steve Warren — honored for his work with tobacco cessation and education, clean air policies and advocacy for non-smokers’ rights.

Injury Prevention and Safety

• Don Muller and Mike Litman —honored for their work putting up a safety barrier at their own expense behind the Backdoor Café after it was reported a toddler had made the straight shot into the road and into traffic.
• Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) — honored for its hands-on training to reduce the risks and injuries to commercial and non-commercial boaters around the state, especially in Southeast Alaska.

Holistic Health

• Tiffany Allison — a massage therapist and clinical chiropractic assistant honored for her holistic approach to wellness, which includes physical activity, nutrition, volunteering, laughing, yoga, and other elements.
• Georgina Dapcevich — a patient who incorporated several types of traditional and alternative medicine into her battle against two types of cancer, and honored for starting the employee wellness program when she was administrator of the Sitka Pioneer Home.

General Wellness

• Jane Demmert — honored for her volunteer work with Brave Heart Volunteers (formerly known as Sitka’s Faith in Action), being a volunteer visitor, grant writer, family caregiver, support group organizer, fundraiser, public speaker, and more.
• Tanya Bonorden — a nurse honored for her work as a role model in the realm of occupational and spiritual wellness, and especially for helping others learn how to flex their spiritual muscles.
• Colin Arnold — honored for his volunteer work at the Swan Lake Senior Center and Sitka Pioneer Home, including his maintenance of the garden next to the Safv (Sitkans Against Family Violence) house.
• Anna Winters — honored for her work with senior groups in Sitka, helping elders stay connected and helping them maintain relationships.
• Sitka Community Schools — honored for its wide array of programs for both mind and body, as it offers classes and physical activities for all ages.
• SEARHC Community Health Services — honored for offering a wide range of wellness programs that include chronic disease prevention, physical activity, nutrition, women’s health, men’s health, behavioral health, environmental health, injury prevention, emergency medical services, community health and wellness training, tobacco control and health promotion.

Policy Makers/Business Leaders

• ALPS Federal Credit Union — honored for making its worksite tobacco-free on Jan. 1.
• Jeff Johnston, PhD — honored for his strong senior-level support of the UAS-Sitka Campus employee wellness program.
• City and Borough of Sitka Mayor and Assembly — honored for the passage of Sitka’s bike helmet ordinance that requires all kids (age 18-younger) to wear helmets, and for providing free helmets to those youth who needed one.

Bridge Builder Award

Moe Chaudry, Administrator/CEO of Sitka Community Hospital, and
Frank Sutton, Vice President of Hospital Services for SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital — honored for their work in bringing a spirit of cooperation and collaboration between Sitka’s two hospitals, working together to support the city’s Health Needs Commission, educating the community on tobacco issues, bringing the Well Workplace University training to Sitka, facilitating the Sitka Employee Wellness Coalition, and co-sponsoring several special events, such as community health fairs and the Sitka Health Summit, “Working Together for a Healthier Sitka.”

 

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