Blueprint Partners Progress Newsletter: July 2004

In this Issue:

ICAA and AAFP Form Partnership to Offer Patient Referral Program
HHS Announces Revised Medicare Obesity Coverage
New Resources from AARP
Prescribing Physical Activity for People with Disabilities: NCPAD
New Study on the Benefits of Moderate Physical Activity
2nd Annual Active Aging Week is Sept. 27- October 3, 2004
Blueprint Mini-Grant Update: Arthritis Foundation, Maryland Chapter

ICAA and AAFP Form Partnership to Offer Patient Referral Program
The International Council on Active Aging and the American Academy of Family Physicians formed a relationship to provide a program in which participating physicians refer their older patients to age-friendly fitness and wellness organizations. This is the first time that a fitness association and a physicians’ group have worked together in this way to improve the lives of older adults.

The ICAA created the ICAA Age-Friendly Facility designation recognizing organizations that have made commitments to creating age-friendly facilities and have gone above and beyond in their design, staffing, programming, marketing, and operations. Some of the goals of the new relationship include the opportunity to offer AAFP member physicians the information and practical support they need to help their older patients become more active and to offer the patients of family physicians access to the resources and tools they need to lead healthier, more active lives.

To learn more about the ICAA age-appropriate fitness and wellness facility locator and patient referral program, visit www.icaa.cc/facilitylocator.htm

HHS Announces Revised Medicare Obesity Coverage Policy
A new policy removes language in the Medicare Coverage Issues Manual stating that obesity is not an illness. This step allows members of the public to request that Medicare review medical evidence to determine whether specific treatments related to obesity would be covered by Medicare.

New Resources from AARP
AARP launched a national campaign, Step Up to Better Health, to get more Americans walking. A new on-line walking section provides tips on getting started and staying motivated and supplies walking logs and other interactive tools.

The new AARP Physical Activities Workbook helps you get motivated to participate in physical activities, set goals, form a support group, and tackle roadblocks. A free copy is available from AARP.

Prescribing Physical Activity for People with Disabilities: NCPAD
The National Center on Physical Activity and Disability director’s column discusses the complexity of prescribing physical activity programs given that the conditions and physical activity needs of people with disabilities vary greatly.

New Study on the Benefits of Moderate Physical Activity Findings from a Swedish study of 3,206 people aged 65 and older showed that those who exercised occasionally reduced their chances of death by 28 percent. Participants who were physically active once a week reduced their early mortality risk by 40 percent. Researchers followed the participants for 12 years or until they died. The study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

2nd Annual Active Aging Week is Sept. 27- October 3, 2004
During Active Aging Week, fitness and wellness facilities nationwide open their centers to older adults. The International Council on Active Aging and Jazzercise are sponsoring the observance to raise the awareness of the benefits of physical activity and proper nutrition for older adults.
www.icaa.cc/aaw.htm

Blueprint Mini-Grant Update: Arthritis Foundation, Maryland Chapter
The Maryland Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation accomplished these goals in 2003:
1) Trained 12 new volunteers in the PACE program and offered the program in six new sites in the Baltimore City area. Five of these sites are African-American churches, and one is a senior center. Thirty people with an average age of 51 participated in the PACE program at the five church locations.
2)Surveyed 285 participants of the 2003 Health Freedom Walk. The survey introduced participants to the PACE and the I Can, I Will programs and was used to plan an improved six-week pre-walk training session for the May 1, 2004 Walk.
3)Continued the walking programs at three of the 11 training sites from the 2003 Walk.

The Arthritis Foundation plans to increase the number of walk training sites from 11 in 2003 to 20 sites in 2004, and increase participation to 400 walkers. A mailing will also be sent to health providers’ offices in the community to encourage patients’ participation in physical activity. Health care providers will receive a prescription pad on which they can write physical activity prescriptions or referrals to Arthritis Foundation programs and classes.

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The Blueprint Partners Project is an initiative of the Active Aging Partnership. For more information, contact the National Blueprint Office at the University of Illinois Department of Kinesiology.
Website: www.agingblueprint.org