They say, getting a pet is supposed to make you healthier.  My husband has had high blood pressure for several years.  We got a cat earlier this winter and amazingly, his blood pressure is now at the normal range.  Could this be because of the cat?

My Cholesterol is at a high level and getting the cat hasn’t improved it for me, so I want to do something to get that number to the ‘good range’.  A goal I have given myself is to eat healthier.

If you see this symbol on food packages, that means the item has met nutrition criteria.

I unfortunately never see this symbol on a bag of potato chips.

Looking in the Heart & Stroke site I found these ways to help eating healthier

• To avoid the impulse buying make a shopping list and stick to that shopping list.
• Spend more time shopping in the outer aisles where the healthy foods like fruits, veggies, bread, meat and milk are found.
• Divide your cart into four quarters, based on the four food groups.  Fill half of your cart with veggies, fruits and whole grains, one quarter with lower fat dairy products and the other quarter with lean meat, fish, beans, nuts and soya products.

How close do you read the Nutrition Facts label that you see on all the boxes and cans?  This is where I see ZERO cholesterol on those bags of chips and think, right on, I can eat them.  Well, not really.

Choose products lower in salt, saturated and trans fat and products that have 2 grams of fibre or more.

Check out the Nutrition Labeling and Health Check  link for more info.

Lyme Disease caution has been raised as a reminder for those going out for camping or hiking. The usual wood tick does not carry lyme disease, but blacklegged ticks do. Did you know Manitoba has a lyme disease tick program where, if you have a suspect (like in CSI) ,you can send it in a bottle to a lab? They have instructions and detailed pictures (rather gross, unless you are a bug person of course) about the ticks.

I have heard many ways people remove ticks, but it is recommended to use twizzers and gently pull them without twisting or crushing them. I am sure those with more experience can offer suggestions for what has worked to remove ticks. Some may work better on wood ticks but remember blacklegged ones may carry disease so be careful and do send it in. It helps track where they are. Currently they have been know to be in South Central Manitoba.

Be protected out there while enjoying the wonderful woods and camps of Manitoba. Download the  lyme disease fact sheet from the Government web site and take it with you. Check for ticks daily and carefully remove them. If you feel ill, consult your health provider.

Health Services

Dependent Children Eligibility

If you have children who are unmarried, natural, adopted or a step child who is under the age of 22 and not working more than 30 hours a week unless a full-time student, they are eligible for coverage through your group benefits plan with Great-West Life. If your child is age 22 or over, they must be a full-time student to maintain coverage until age 25.

A child is considered a full-time student if they have registered in an educational institution for 15 hours a week or more; sometime in the last 6 months. If your child is being paid to attend an educational institution, they are no longer deemed a dependent.

Dependent Children, age 22 to 25 – Don’t forget to reconfirm Student Status

It is important for employees with overage dependent children (over age 22) to remember to update their student status to ensure over-age student dependents continue to receive uninterrupted Health and Dental coverage for the duration of their formal education, or until age 25.

Watch for the student re-certification from Great-West Life each year!

Is your child covered while away at school?

The Out-Of-Country Emergency Care (OOC) provided through your Great-West Life plan only covers emergency medical situations while outside of Canada. An emergency is described as a sudden, unexpected injury or an acute episode of disease. Dependents attending school out-of-country will remain on your Health and Dental plan for the duration of their education, or until they reach age 25.

There are no pre-existing conditions on the OOC coverage; however, if the insured individual does have a medical issue, the condition must be stable and controlled for 3 months prior to their departure from Canada. If you are unsure, you should check with your doctor and Great-West Life.

So what does this mean for your child going out-of-country for school?

If your child is considered an eligible dependent, they will be covered for unexpected emergency medical while out-of-country. For a dependent who is not a student, no benefits will be paid for expenses incurred more than 90 days after the date of departure from Canada in the event of a medical emergency.

For a dependent who is attending school out-of-country, benefits will be extended if approval is given by the student’s provincial health plan. For more information on your provincial health plan, visit http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/mhsip/index.html.

Be aware that any routine or non-emergency services or expenses such as chiropractic care or prescription drugs incurred out-of-country will be reimbursed at the reasonable and customary amount charged in your home province of residence.

If you review your dependent’s coverage needs and require purchasing individual coverage, plans purchased in Canada for students abroad can be significantly less expensive compared to plans available through the school. Red River College employees have access to STRATA Benefits Consulting Inc.’s Emerge service which provides information and assistance in obtaining individual coverage. Contact an Emerge Specialist at emerge@stratagroup.ca or 1-866-787-2826 for more information.

A brave team of 8, the ‘United Colors of RRC’, braved a hostile territory of pink, blue, green, purple,and yellow this past Sunday at the Color Me Rad race at Red River Exhibition Park.

We had a great time and while most plan to take part again next year, one runner and her husband plan on taking part in Rad Runs in Vegas and Fresno later this year too!

Please enjoy our before and after pics below and we hope to have you on our team next year!

To learn more about the race, please read the wellness post from June 27th and various articles in the news as well!

Red River College’s VP Academic and Research Stan Sae-Hoon Chung joined RRC in 2012 because of its reputation as a global leader in advanced learning. Stan is an award-winning writer, visionary advocate for life-changing learning, and passionate believer in the college as an engine for social and economic transformation (full bio here). Mike Krywy (Chair of the Wellness Committee) sat down with Stan to get his thoughts about wellness.

Q: Wellness is sometimes broken up into physical, mental and spiritual aspects. What are your thoughts on this way of thinking?

I agree with that breakdown, as all those aspects are important. But I also think of wellness in terms of individual wellness, organizational wellness and global wellness. And those same three principles – physical, mental and spiritual – would apply to all three.

Take individual wellness. If we are not well as individuals, how can we be well as a community or as a people? So if individual wellness is not connected to the workplace or we fail to see the connection, you CAN end up with challenges. Then you have to ask, “What is the missing ingredient? Why are people not well or unhappy at work? What can we do to sustain and support individual wellness?” For me, the answer resides in a uniting sense of purpose.

Q: What are the key components of organizational wellness?

Organizational wellness can be defined in many ways. One way to understand it is through the strength of social bonds. We are all individuals linked in a network or community, and it is important to be socially connected, whether that’s at home or at work.

A simple question to ask is “Do you have a best friend at work?” Someone who – if you had a question as simple as “where’s the mail room?” – would provide you with directions. Research has shown that strong friendships can help make people more resilient and adaptable. When you have those social supports at work, you’re more likely to want to come to work, make a contribution, and enjoy it.

Q: As an organization, is there anything the College can do to help develop these social bonds and strengthen personal networks?

Read More →

When did we acquire the fear to make mistakes? I was wondering if a child would learn to walk if every time he/she falls down, the parents criticize him/her. I wonder if a surfer would get to enjoy the experience of learning to surf, if every time he falls down, he thinks, “Here you go, I failed again.” Before we learn to ride a bicycle, we fall many times. At the end, learning to ride a bicycle is worth the effort.

In school, we are marked down if we make mistakes, if we fall down below the standard. There is research supporting the idea that innovation blossoms when people are given the space to make mistakes. Even Mahatma Gandhi valued experimentation and said, “Freedom isn’t worth having if it doesn’t include the freedom to make mistakes.”

Then why don’t we allow and encourage making mistakes? At work or business, we avoid mistakes in order not to be seen as incompetent. There is an underlying message that in order to be successful, we need to be experts. How would we learn if something works for us or is for us, unless we try it first?

The fear we have of making mistakes is the underlying cause for procrastination. If we lived our lives as a surfer who knows that falling down is a natural part of the experience, we would take more risks. There are so many difficult conversations we are avoiding all the time with our boss, our partner, friends, family, etc. That book or e-mail we wanted to read/write or send. That new business idea or product you are overanalyzing.

If we fall down (because if we risk, you will fall), you will get up and keep going for the sake of the adventure of being alive. So why don’t we accept falling or failure as part of the ride?  We are afraid of feeling something unpleasant. At the same time, the same unpleasant feeling is a reminder that we are alive.

Sixty percent of all skateboard injuries happen to children under 15 years old and are predictable and preventable. Make sure your child has a good helmet and all the other safety equipment.  After watching the incredible display by Tony Hawk at Polo Park and the great example they showed in wearing all their safety gear, it is important to reinforce safety habits. The height of the ramp was breathtaking. After it was over and as I was picking up my son, I could not help but notice the number of skateboarders trying out their skills. Some had safety gear, some did not. We can use professionals’ habits of safety to reinforce that it is the right thing to do. In our  communities do we ask skate parks to post signs that encourage wearing of safety gear?

Did you know we have a fantastic kids safety resource at our fingertips? A number of Canadian child safety groups got together and now you can connect to them under Parachute!

They have free downloads on many topics from a quick reference on how to spot a concussion in sports to home and recreational (don’t forget about summer water safety!) activities for kids and their parents.

There is a volunteer group called ThinkFirst you should check out. Chapters are across Canada and they support child safety and could likely use some more volunteers to spread the word about child safety.

From Health Services

We all need to dream a bit about what we would do with some extra money or win the Lottery. Here are 36 fun, mind distracting must have ideas for dressing up your home given that unlimited budget in our dreams! My favorite is the door that rotates in the middle to become a ping pong table for those with limited floor space. That might not be a bad idea or even that expensive or the bone shaped pool for the dog. I just never thought of it before! Maybe you can think of some neat ideas by letting those budget restrictions just disappear for a while. Perhaps they are not so expensive AND creative!  Enjoy dreaming

From Health Services

Feeling stressed, anxious, sad, or need to clear your brain? Here are a few of my favorite sites to make me smile and laugh (sometimes to the point of crying)!

• Need a card for an occasion so strange that Hallmark doesn’t even recognize it? SOMEECARDS.COM has it covered. Still can’t find what you are looking for….they even let you create your own.
• Ever feel gypped that you never find yourself in the middle of a flash mob? IMPROVEEVERYWHERE.COM brings silliness and joy to the serious folk of New York. The troupe is famous for their “No Pants Subway Ride“, “MP3 Experiments” and other fun events – check it out! CAUTION: it is my mission this summer to bring the “Black Tie Beach” event to Winnipeg….keep tuned in for details….  
• Like lists? Sometimes you just need to know the “26 Invaluable Life Lessons According to Sloths“. Be warned: you could spend a full weekend surfing through funny compilations on BUZZFEED.COM!

Now are you feeling a little better? That’s good!  🙂