The Scoop – January 2025
by Paul Dorin
Happy New Year to everyone from the South Shuswap Health Services Society. We hope 2025 will bring wellness and happiness to all. It is our goal to help support you in ensuring personal wellness. South Shuswap Health Services Society and the Copper Island Health and Wellness Centre offer a number of services to assist with a wide variety of services in our community. These services include: access to a mobile blood lab, immunizations, grief support, mental health support, Farmer’s Market Coupon Program, senior’s lunches with an educational component, income tax preparation for seniors, foot care, yoga and walking programs.
We continue to look for opportunities to bring to our community. Our programs are very popular with community members and often we have waiting lists. With this in mind, we ask if situations change for you and you cannot make an appointment, please let us know with as much lead time as possible. Then we can see if we can offer the opportunity to others. It is very disappointing when we have “no shows”, to appointments or events.
Copper Island Wellness Centre is becoming a real hub for our community. Agencies that are currently using the Centre include: a Pregnancy Outreach Worker, a Community Integration Specialist, a Mental Health and Substance Use Clinician, a Community Integrated Care Coordinator, Form + Function Kinesiology Services, Shuswap Economic Development Society, and an LPN providing foot care. It is great to see the Copper Island Health and Wellness Centre being able to host these services.
Through a generous grant from the United Way, we have been providing “Senior’s Lunches” to residents of the South Shuswap. Please email sshssprograms@gmail.com if you would like to be added to our email list. These sessions are extremely popular, have limited space and are offered on a first-come first -served basis. Our January lunch will be held in White Lake and focus on “All You Want to Know About Pharmaceutical Topics”. Our February Lunch will be at the Shuswap Lake Estates Hall in Blind Bay with a focus on fraud and protecting yourself from victim of many of the financial scams we are experiencing. An email with the details and registration instructions will be sent out in early January and early February.
We would like to thank the Village Grocer for supporting us in providing lunch for our November Senior’s Lunch meeting and Jeramie Auchterlonie from the Shuswap Cardiac Society for the informative presentation. The December Lunch was held at the Sorrento Centre. The focus was on social wellness, we played games and had a fantastic Turkey Dinner with all the Fixings. It was a great way to meet people, and the Sorrento Centre did a fantastic job.
SAVE THE DATE- MARCH 8th, 2025. We will be holding a fundraiser to support the operation of the Copper Island Health and Wellness Centre. It will be a night filled with music and fun! More information will be forthcoming but mark your calendars. We sold out last year!
As the year comes to a close, we would like to recognize and thank some of the many groups that help us in providing our various services to people in the South Shuswap.
– Thank you to all our volunteers who work at the Copper Island Health and Wellness Centre and our off-site locations. These volunteers are the people who make all that we do possible. Their donation of their time is key in the betterment of our community.
– Thank you to the South Shuswap Health Services Society Board of Directors for finding and supporting the wide variety of programs they share with our community. We welcome our new Board of Directors and look forward to the work they will be doing in support of the South Shuswap.
– We would like to thank all our members for your strong support and involvement with our community.
-A special thank you to all who donated to support the services provided.
All the best to you and your family in 2025.
The Scoop – December 2024
by Paul Dorin
Thank you. As the year comes to a close, we would like to recognize and thank some of the many groups that help us in providing our various services to people in the South Shuswap.
- – We would like to thank the Village Grocer for supporting us in providing lunch for our November Seniors Lunch meeting and Jeramie Auchterlonie from the Shuswap Cardiac Society for the informative presentation.
- – Thank you to all our volunteers who work at the Copper Island Health and Wellness Centre and our off-site locations. These volunteers are the people who make all that we do possible. Their donation of their time is key in the betterment of our community.
- – Thank you to the South Shuswap Health Services Society Board of Directors for finding and supporting the wide variety of programs they share with our community. We welcome our new Board of Directors and look forward to the work they will be doing in support of the South Shuswap.
Current Programs We are always looking ahead to innovative ideas and programs we can provide for our community. Currently we have a number of programs available: Monthly Seniors Lunch, Chair Yoga, Indoor Walking, Footcare, Mobile Lab, Mindfulness Stress Reduction Sessions, Grief Counselling, along with supporting a number of community programs in our Copper Island Wellness Centre. Should you have ideas for others programs you would find useful please let our team know.
Seniors Lunch Program Through a generous grant from the United Way, we have been providing “Seniors Lunches” to residents of the South Shuswap. Please email sshssprograms@gmail.com if you would like to be added to our email list. These sessions are extremely popular and have limited space and are offered on a first-come first -served basis usually filled withing 48 hrs.
With winter now upon it is important to think of our personal safety in the ice and snow.
Here are some tips to consider staying on your feet.
- Choose the right footwear with a non-slip sole.
- Give yourself plenty of time to get where you are going.
- Walk like a penguin when slippery. (mimicking the tiny steps help you keep your balance and footing)
- Keep your hands free in case you need them for balance or grabbing something to hold on to.
- Remove snow and ice from walkways frequently.
- Keep the exterior lights on at your home, choose well-lit pathways, or wear a headlamp, so you have clear vision.
- Scan for tripping hazards, black ice, and uneven surfaces.
- When you go out for a walk, carry a small plastic bag filled with sand or kitty litter in your pocket to sprinkle as needed on icy sidewalks or inclines.
Learn some snow shovelling tips to keep your body strong and healthy.
- Do not shovel after eating or while smoking.
- Warm up before you begin and stretch your muscles after.
- Do not wait for the snow to stop falling – shovel early and often.
- Whenever possible, use a snow shovel to push, rather than lift, the snow.
- If you must lift, use a smaller shovel, or only partially fill up the shovel.
- Lift the shovel with your legs and not your back.
- Do not shovel to the point of exhaustion, take breaks.
- If you are feeling faint or in pain, stop.
- Know the signs of a heart attack – and stop immediately if you feel chest pain.
(adapted from B.C. Interior Health)
Help your neighbour with shoveling as many hands make for less work. If you have a neighbour who is not as able as you, they will appreciate your help.
We wish everyone a Wonderful New Year and Merry Christmas. Enjoy the Holiday Season!