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Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Tammy Petersen
Direct
Line:
800.957.7348
E-mail:
Tammy@AAHF.info
It Applies – Use It or Lose It!
THE AMERICAN
ACADEMY OF HEALTH AND FITNESS PREPARES
CERTIFIED NURSE AIDES TO IMPPOVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE AND “INDEPENDENCY”
OF THEIR PATIENTS
The
American
Academy
of Health and Fitness (AAHF), the leader in education and training for
successful aging, presents a new program for Certified Nurse Aides
titled Functionally
Fit™. This is the second program
created by Tammy Petersen, Founder and Managing Partner of AAHF, that
specifically targets older adults. This advanced training utilizes
convenient
on-line training to teach CNAs how to make functional strength part of
the daily
care plan. It was developed to help improve the quality of life for
older
people who are suffering from physical frailty or from some degree of
physical
dependency. This is a unique approach allows wellness and fitness to be
a part
of the entire continuum of care and qualifies for a minimum of 12
in-service
hours.
Consider these average
national
statistics for nursing home residents:
| • |
Nearly 95% of residents were dependent on staff
for bathing |
| • |
87% dependent for dressing |
| • |
79% dependent for toileting |
| • |
74% dependent for transfers |
| • |
50% dependent for eating |
| • |
74% dependent on staff for 4-5 ADLs |
| • |
54% are chair bound |
| • |
31% can ambulate with assistance while only
16% can ambulate with little or no assistance |
Functionally
Fit™,
through on-line trained Certified
Nurse Aides (CNA), reaches the chronic long-term care and assisted
living
patient to provide daily functional training as an accepted and
expected part
of the daily care plan. The CNA, or other front-line
caregiver, is educated
and then certified to provide this type of care. Society must change
its view
that long term care facilities are just warehouses where we store
people until
they die. Ideally, functional training, with a focus on strength,
should be
part of a person’s lifestyle at any age. But as people grow
older and begin to
lose muscle strength and mass, it becomes even more important to
reverse, or at
least slow, the effects of aging and to guarantee independence for the
activities of daily living into old age. Along with the course manual,
there
are 24 sessions presented in an on-line program to facilitate the
learning
process. A color-coded DVD and poster set of the program to be used
with the
patient is also provided as an additional instructional guide for each
resident’s room.
Headquartered
in Tonganoxie, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, the American
Academy
of Health and
Fitness is a professional association committed to providing advanced
training
and continuing education for fitness professionals who are serious
about
ensuring safe and effective programs for the older adult.
For more information on AAHF call 800.957.7348 or log onto
www.aahf.info.
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