Author: Terry, Carmen

Please remember to fill out the 6 question survey to gauge interest in the calm app for employees. It’s due on Friday, September 16th.

https://forms.gle/SKvoLs9DJwKSTGmj7

The Calm app would be for benefit eligible employees so even for people who do not take the health insurance, but are eligible to. Calm is a global mental health solution that supports employee mental well-bring through clinically proven outcomes like better sleep, reduced stress and anxiety and improved mindfulness. Calm’s comprehensive, diverse and highly accessible mental wellness resources are designed to support a broad spectrum of needs across our population.

The platform contains; meditation, sleep, music, mindfulness, masterclasses, meditation for kids, the daily calm, calm body and the daily move and much more.

The new tab for the 22-23 wellness program will be posted on August 1st when the program begins, all forms and information can be found under that tab. See you soon!

Healthy Kids Running Series is a five (5) week running program in the spring and fall for kids Pre-K through 8th grade. Each HKRS Series takes place once a week and offers age appropriate running events including the 50 & 75 yard dashes, the 1/4 mile, the 1/2 mile and the 1 mile run. Kids compete each week for a chance to earn points. At the end of the Series the boys and girls who accumulate the most points in their respective distances are awarded trophies.  All participants receive a medal on Week 5!

The registration fee covers the entire five (5) weeks of the Series which includes race bibs for each week, a runner shirt, a finisher medal and any sponsor giveaways. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferrable.  Online Early Bird registration is $40.00 and then increases to $45.00 three weeks prior to the first race event. Race day walk up paper registration forms are $50.00.

Share your running photos with our community! Find us on Facebook @HealthyKidsRunning or Instagram @healthykidsrs! 

#GetUpandGo 

https://runsignup.com/hkrswilliamsport

As you know we focus a lot on employee health, but we always encourage the entire health of the family. When adults are healthy and make good choices it encourages kids to be healthy too. Please check out this great running program opportunity for kids ages 2-14.

To register click here:

https://runsignup.com/Race/PA/Williamsport/HealthyKidsRunningSeriesWilliamsportPA

Just a reminder that this year we have three make up screenings or re-screenings:

Saturdays on January 15th, February 19th and March 26th. Those are the only three health screenings we will have for make up screenings or re-screenings. So please plan accordingly and make sure you are signed up for one of these.

Embrace Your Path wellness starts on August 1, 2021 and runs until July 31, 2022. We have a couple new features this year for points, so make sure you click on the tab 21-22 Embrace Your Path for all program details. I would also like to welcome back all our faculty, staff and administrators and I know this year will be great. I always feel like my new year starts in August and not in January, I think because I have always been involved in some sort of education from my own schooling, to my career as an athletic trainer, my career as a health and wellness coordinator and most certainly because my kids are still in school. So this new beginning can be filled with wonder, excitement and challenges, but we only grow from challenging ourselves. So welcome back and I am so excited to see you soon!

On Friday afternoon, I had an appointment to receive my second dose of the Covid19 vaccine and it went as smoothly as the first. I signed in, got my card filled out and received the vaccine. After receiving the vaccine, I went to another room to wait out my 15 minutes. I didn’t really expect any reactions as I didn’t have any on the first dose and I was right. After my 15 minutes were up, I went home. Within a couple hours my arm was sore again, completely expected as that happened with the first dose.

On Saturday morning I got up, felt fine except for my arm being super sore and went to work out. I figured the more I can move my arm the better off I will be. I went about my normal business on Saturday, going to the market after workout and coming home to clean. I was pretty excited at about 21 hours post vaccine that I was feeling good. I have heard many people running fevers and generally feeling bad for about 24 hours after the vaccine.

Around 26 hours post vaccine (5pm), I had a slight headache and took my temperature which registered 99.9. I am not much of a medicine taker at all, so I didn’t take anything for it. I knew this was my body’s way of boosting my immune system so I am a firm believer in letting my body do it’s job. I was able to eat normal and truly didn’t feel sick, just a headache. (I did keep taking my temperature every 90 minutes just to be sure it didn’t go higher.) By the time I went to bed around 10pm, my body temperature was back to 98.6 and although my headache was still slight, I felt fine.

On Sunday, I woke up with no elevated temperature and no headache. And I felt fine the entire day. I am happy I was able to receive the vaccine when I could and happy to do my part in helping to stop this dreadful illness. I also felt it was easy decision to make after having Covid19. So if you have any questions about the illness or the vaccine, I am happy to discuss it with you! Stay Safe and Stay Well!

Carmen

I am not an expert in vaccinations, nor am I am expert in medicine. But I know many of you look to me for answers regarding your health and wellness. This is my own personal story and I wanted to share why I chose to take the Covid19 vaccination and received my first dose on Friday, January 8th. I did a lot of research before choosing to be vaccinated. As a science person, I went to sources like UPMC, scientific journals, the CDC and spoke with my medical expert friends. What I found out was that the technology behind the mRNA vaccine has been out for 30+ years. Yes, that’s right, more than 3 decades. The difference being it hasn’t been used on a large scale operation like Covid19. (We haven’t had a pandemic in my lifetime until now thank goodness.) Vaccines are created to get your own body to respond when it encounters an antigen. Did you know that measels and mumps are also highly contagious viruses and we developed technology (vaccines) to nearly eradicate them? So if you get a vaccine, (which are never 100% effective) , it creates an immune response in your body. Did you know that the MMR vaccine is only 97% effective and look what it has done to those diseases. This immune response helps to recognize, fight and get rid of any antigen that doesn’t belong in your body. The faster your immune system can respond, the less likely you are to become ill from the antigen. This information about the Covid19 vaccine is directly from the cdc.gov website: “mRNA vaccines contain material from the virus that causes COVID-19 that gives our cells instructions for how to make a harmless protein that is unique to the virus. After our cells make copies of the protein, they destroy the genetic material from the vaccine. Our bodies recognize that the protein should not be there and build T-lymphocytes and B-lymphocytes that will remember how to fight the virus that causes COVID-19 if we are infected in the future.”

It is truly fascinating to me that we have the technology to do these things. And the coolest thing that I find incredible is that the whole world has been working on this problem. Scientists and doctors from all over the globe have been working non-stop to create these vaccines. This is why the vaccine was faster than most because we have a collective group of people working on the exact same problem. Vaccine technology has been around for many years, so scientists can use that already existing information to help with new diseases like Covid19.

I chose to be vaccinated because I believe in science. I have seen it work over and over again in my lifetime, for example the vaccinations we receive as children giving us in some cases lifetime immunity against diseases that would otherwise be devastating. I chose to be vaccinated to protect other people that may not be able to get the vaccine. I chose to be vaccinated for my family and friends, so that I can help to protect them now and hopefully in the future. Again, I am not an expert, but I am happy to discuss with anyone the reasons why I chose to be vaccinated.

As most of us head into a much needed break, I wanted to say a heartfelt “Thank You” for all that you do for our students, their families, our schools and coworkers. As I stated in my newsletter in early December we need to remember what we are grateful for every day. Find the small things over break that make you happy. One of my favorite things in the morning is that first sip of hot coffee. I savor the taste and the warmth of the coffee. It’s small, it’s something I could take for granted, but I don’t. Last Wednesday when I left work to drive home and it was snowing I was happy. I love the snow. As I sat working in my living room that afternoon in front of a crackling fire and the snow was coming down, I lived in that moment. It was peaceful and quiet. When I woke up on Thursday it was just beautiful and then later that afternoon watching my 17 year old go out with her friends to build a snowman was incredible. One of her teachers gave them some extra credit to go out and play in the snow and build snowman. (Of course they had to take a picture see below) I thought what an ingenious way to get the kids out and acting like children again. They didn’t just build a snowman and be done. The threw snow at each other, they jumped in snowbanks and laughed. What an incredible thing to watch. (And they weren’t on electronics! Now that was the miracle.)

So your assignment over break is to express gratitude for the little things, laugh and enjoy moments with your families and most of all take time for yourself.

I know I say this a lot because I mean it. When I took this job almost 9 years ago, I wasn’t sure what was in store for me creating a new program and getting to know all of you, but I love doing it. When you find your true purpose in life it’s easy to love what you do and you all make that so.

No matter what you celebrate this holiday season, I wish you all well and look for better and brighter things to come in 2021.

Sincerely,

Carmen