Posts: 32
4/29/09 11:46 P

Thank you Sabbathgirl and everyone else for your warm welcome. I look forward to hearing more from you all(as soon as I start to figure out how to watch and post to the discussion boards more effectively).

Posts: 4,512
4/27/09 1:53 P

Welcome! I am in a rural area also (Iowa) and finding companions to work with is difficult, and that makes it difficult. And it is very nice that our hospital lets us use their physical therapy equipment for fitness. I hope you can find something like that.....but you at least have places to hike! God bless you, and GO for it!

Posts: 145,433
4/27/09 12:05 P

welcome,..........so glad you are here...............wishing you well as we journey here together..........blessings and hugs..........lita

June Minutes: 1,930

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SparkPoints: (88,552)
Fitness Minutes: (101,020)
Posts: 7,672
4/27/09 10:04 A

Hello and welcome to the team

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Posts: 24,881
4/27/09 5:44 A

Welcome to the team

SparkPoints: (10,983)
Fitness Minutes: (1,495)
Posts: 4,286
4/27/09 5:16 A

Welcome Dave, the problem with seniors and fitness, regardless of location, is indeed, a feeling of isolation. I find that initially one must bring people in to a communal atmosphere. I've studied exercise and the older adult, basic functional resistance/calisthenic training to improve quality of life. Appropriate music, coffee and biscuits, and an opportunity to chat together after class is always a good idea.
Dave [another one]

Posts: 21,045
4/26/09 10:29 P

WTG Dave for jumping right in and introducing yourself to the Team!

Great goals you have, re: the Tavaputs Plateau...I like to think like that also...before the summer / fall is over I plan to bike the Kal-Haven trail in MI with my son...34 miles one way...hoping even to do the round trip!

I think you're right re: living in rural areas and difficulties feeling like taking care of yourself, etc. Hopefully we can keep spreading the SPARK and reach more and more, rural or otherwise! :-)

Don

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Posts: 32
4/26/09 10:06 P

Hello everyone! My name is Dave and I'm new to the SP site. I work in a rural part of eastern Utah as a Nurse Practitioner in a community health center. I've been in Utah for a little over 2 years. Before that, I lived and worked in a small town in rural (frontier) Alaska called Bethel.

It was difficult to exercise in Bethel. It's difficult to exercise in any small town because the facilities aren't always that great. We have a nice wellness center as of last year in East Carbon. The population is somewhere near 1,200 and dwindling. There is a lot of depression, substance abuse, teen pregnancy, and I see the visible effects of poor nutrition and other poverty risk factors (I feel like an outsider sometimes just because I still have all my original teeth).

I don't mean to make it seem all gloomy here. There are a lot of great people here. Many are really trying to make a difference in one way or another. One great feature of living here includes the proximity to the great outdoors. The Book cliffs ARE my back yard. It can even be a "half-day" trip to Moab, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. Another great associated feature is the fact that I am in the middle of all this beautiful landscape, and I don't have to worry about large crowds of people. I don't miss the traffic and the pollution one bit. The best part about it is that my wife loves it here too.

My goal is to run (or hike) over the Tavaputs Plateau and down to the Green River. I haven't calculated the mileage or the elevation yet. I've always wanted to run an ultra marathon as well, and this may be a good interim goal. We'll see.

I joined this group because I am looking for ways to motivate my patients to choose healthy lifestyles. I am interested to see what other health care providers have run into, and I'd be particularly interested in finding rural providers.

I'm very impressed with this site. I've noticed that in rural areas (especially this one) that people feel isolated, and that makes it difficult to take good care of yourself because you don't always feel a part of "the whole". This website is a good way for me, and others in this town to reach out and be a part of the larger community.

Thank you for your stories of motivation and for your encouragement and collegiality.

Dave