2008 News and Information
Richmond Seniors Help Other Seniors Stay Healthy
03 June 2008Shirley Brown has had some close calls but knows the Richmond Seniors Wellness Clinics have saved seniors’ lives. The 84-year-old is the fiery founder of a grassroots community health monitoring service supported by 17 volunteer retired registered nurses.
“Seniors want to take an active role in protecting their own health,” explains Brown. “Wellness Clinics help seniors monitor blood pressure and blood glucose each month, providing a current record to take to their doctor.”
“Accounting for 25 per cent of the current Richmond population, the number of seniors will continue to expand dramatically as the baby boomers move into later life stages,” says Carolyn Brandly, Seniors Wellness Coordinator for the City of Richmond. “Seniors today are actively involved in protecting their personal health through participation in a wide variety of health promotion and recreation programs, which conserves increasingly scarce healthcare resources.”
Richmond’s Seniors Wellness Clinics have expanded to eight sites at community centres and meeting halls city wide, providing community based health monitoring for hundreds of culturally diverse seniors monthly. Seniors Wellness Clinics are a partnership between City of Richmond Seniors Services and Vancouver Coastal Health through Richmond Health Services.
Meet the dedicated group of volunteer retired registered nurses on Wednesday, June 4 from 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. at Activate! Wellness Fair for Seniors at Minoru Place Activity Centre.
Seniors Wellness Clinics offer a unique variety of services for adults 55+ including:
- free blood pressure checks by retired nurse volunteers
- free blood glucose monitoring by a Diabetes Nurse Educator
- free information on community programs, services and supports for seniors
- low cost holistic health treatments including reflexology, manicures and pedicures, chair massage and more
A complete Seniors Wellness Clinic schedule can by found on the City of Richmond website at www.richmond.ca/parksrec/seniors/citywide.htm.
