{"id":12814,"date":"2013-11-14T15:34:23","date_gmt":"2013-11-14T22:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=12814"},"modified":"2015-12-15T17:36:14","modified_gmt":"2015-12-16T00:36:14","slug":"center-for-active-living-hopes-to-change-attitudes-about-exercise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communique.uccs.edu\/?p=12814","title":{"rendered":"Center for Active Living hopes to change attitudes about exercise"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s Note: This is the fourth in a series of occasional articles about the activities that will take place inside the Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences. The Lane Center is scheduled to open in Jan. 2014 on North Nevada Avenue<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Mary<\/a>
Mary Ann Kluge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mary Ann Kluge does not like the word clinic.<\/p>\n

For Kluge, associate professor, Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the term clinic is a relic of a medical model that emphasizes treatment of disease rather than promoting wellness, active living and integrated health services delivery. These are the cornerstones of the Lane Center for Academic Health Sciences.<\/p>\n

At the Lane Center, Kluge will direct the Center for Active Living, an enterprise that will focus on helping people to continue physical activity as a way of preventing disease, continuing activities that they enjoy for as long as possible, and possibly learning something new.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe definition for active living is really important,\u201d Kluge said. \u201cIt is defined as a way of life in which physical activity is valued and integrated into daily life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The center will specialize in helping people identify physical activity that has meaning and value to them and how to participate in a safe environment. The center\u2019s staff will work to support individual goals, needs, and interests, helping people adapt to changes that occur either as an effect of aging, injury or from medication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not thinking about running a health club,\u201d Kluge said of the center. \u201cIt\u2019s a health hub.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kluge\u2019s goal is to make exercise fun, what she refers to as \u201ca get to\u201d rather than a \u201chave to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes I think of this as a reintroduction to what we all had naturally years ago,\u201d Kluge said. \u201cMovement was intrinsically joyful to us as children. So, in some cases, how can we reconnect to what we were naturally drawn to? Or, the reality is that a lot of people meet up with a recommendation for physical activity or exercise based on an event. It could be a heart attack, it could be a knee replacement — it could be something that they didn\u2019t sign up for or didn\u2019t expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kluge practices what she preaches, bringing lacrosse sticks to work and asking students to play catch on the University Hall lawn. She also formed a Saturday morning volleyball league for women over 50 at the Campus Recreation Center. She sees value beyond winning points as her peers hustle to reach a ball and in the intergenerational exchange when a lonely freshman joined the group.<\/p>\n

Kluge comes from a coaching and athletic background with experiences that span the life course. She worked with developmentally delayed children, high performing college athletes, and senior citizens. She was part of the UCCS collaboration with Palisades at Broadmoor Park, a unique partnership with a senior residential care facility. There, she learned the value of health care professionals working together in a team-based environment.<\/p>\n

As an example of cooperation among health professionals that includes exercise, Kluge cites treatment for high blood pressure. A common side effect of hypertension drugs is dizziness. With dizziness, falls can occur. Falls in seniors can lead to broken bones, the loss of independent living, or worse.<\/p>\n

By working together in what she calls \u201cfriendly handoffs,\u201d Kluge believes problems can be avoided. A client who receives hypertension medication in a clinical setting might also receive guidance from the Center for Active Living that includes exercises to improve balance and strengthen bones. A fall might either be prevented or its effects mitigated, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all fall,\u201d Kluge said. \u201cBut a fall doesn\u2019t have to result in a broken bone or a break in confidence that suggests we are over-the-hill.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kluge hopes to prove the value of exercise, helping other health care professionals \u2013 and even insurance companies \u2013 to recognize the importance of physical activity as an integral part of overall health. But changing attitudes about exercise begins with individuals.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/b>My message has to be to the women: What do you pay to get your hair done? What do you pay to get your nails done? You\u2019re willing to pay $75 for a manicure and pedicure. You\u2019re willing to pay $75 to get your hair done. But you\u2019re not willing to pay even a third of that or half of that to enhance your health? To men, I would say what has meaning and value in your life? What are other people expecting of you? Why do you need to be in this world as a breadwinner or as a guiding sage? Why is this important beyond you? What will you invest in this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to help people make that shift from the investments that they make to the outside \u2013 to their appearance — to the inside at the Center for Active Living.\u201d<\/p>\n

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