Fall prevention classes now available

Fall prevention classes began at the Zion Philadelphia United Church of Christ’s fellowship hall on Monday, Nov. 14, to help participants reduce their chances of injuring themselves in a fall. Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) classes are sponsored by the ZP Church and East Adams Rural Hospital.

SAIL classes take place on Mondays and Thursdays at 3 p.m. at the ZP Church. Each class lasts about an hour and it has a warm-up and stretching portion, followed by aerobics and ending with a cool down. The class works on improving balance, flexibility and strength, all which help prevent future falls.

Injuries sustained by falls outnumber the amount of people who sustain trauma due to car crashes, shootings or stabbings.

The class is designed for people 65 years or older, but no one will be turned away unless the class reaches capacity. Currently, there are only 10 people participating in the class and the max capacity is 20 individuals per class. The same people participate in both the Monday and Thursday classes.

Brenda Herr and Pastor Judith Rinehart-Nelson take turns leading the classes in the fellowship hall and both have been trained to do so. Herr had been involved with starting the program at the hospital in Ephrata in 2007 with the Physical Therapy department there.

A condition of being a trauma level five hospital is that the hospital gives back to the community. This class helps to make the community a better, and safer, living environment by working with seniors to help them realize how many aspects of their life are potential fall risks.

EARH contacted Pastor Judith last spring and asked if she would be interested in assisting with the program. She agreed and offered for the classes to be held in her church. The ZP Church is one of the best-handicapped equipped churches in the area.

Pastor Judith worked as a physical therapy assistant and has also worked with elders in the past. The majority of current participants in the class are members of the ZP Church congregation.

During each class, there are discussions about medication, safety, hydration, diet or hypertension. Each class is used to help raise awareness of health and fall risks for the individuals involved in the class.

When individuals first join the class, they are given a baseline test to see how they test in various categories. After six months, the participants are retested to see their improvement.

Participants are also given a health questionnaire, which they are encouraged to take and discuss with their current doctor. It is important that health care providers know about classes such as SAIL classes.

Anybody interested in joining this class is encouraged to contact Brenda Herr at 659-5405 or Zion Philadelphia United Church of Christ at [email protected] or at 659-1440.