To be healthy, people with disabilities require health care that meets their needs as a whole person, not just as a person with a disability. A.A. Living Opportunities assists participants to stay healthy by teaching about and encouraging healthy lifestyles and assisting the individual to follow physician’s orders.
A.A. Living Opportunities Community Living Associates encourage individuals in the following areas to get and stay healthy as recommended by the Center for Disease Control:
- Be physically active every day. Sedentary lifestyles are more common now than ever. A.A. Living Opportunities Community Living Associates offer opportunities to be active during every shift.
- Eating healthy foods in healthy portions. A.A. Living Opportunities helps individuals learn about nutrition by providing various and repetitive teaching moments where the staff can model, coach, instruct, give examples and encourage the participant to change bad habits. Visual tools are implemented, when requested by the participant, to aid in tracking and maintaining nutrition.
- Avoiding getting too much sun. A.A. Living Opportunities helps individuals learn about preventing skin damage from the sun.
- Getting regular checkups.
- Smoking cessation A.A. Living Opportunities encourages individuals learn how to stop smoking.
- Use medicines wisely. A.A. Living Opportunities helps individuals learn about medication safety.
- If you drink alcoholic beverages, drinking in moderation. A.A. Living Opportunities encourages alcohol safety and addiction awareness.
- Staying in touch with family and friends.