A New You for the New Year

Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Jacob Sippel | JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2018) – Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Marquis Hill, a sailor at Naval Hospital Jacksonville’s emergency room, runs outside the hospital for physical training. Hill will soon transfer to 1st Marine Division, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. (U.S. Navy photo by Jacob Sippel, Naval Hospital Jacksonville/Released).  

JACKSONVILLE, FL, UNITED STATES

01.02.2019

Story by Yan Kennon 

Naval Hospital Jacksonville

It’s a new year; use this opportunity to start fresh for a new you. Whether it’s healthy eating, exercise, better sleep, or quitting smoking, one small change can have a positive effect. Naval Hospital Jacksonville has tools to help.

“We have the resources here to provide a holistic approach to wellness,” said Cmdr. Andrew Tarrant, NH Jacksonville associate director for public health. “We offer the latest technology and techniques to partner with you in improving your health.”

Lifestyle changes don’t have to be drastic to be effective. Small changes (over a period of time) can have a big impact.

Here’s some tips for a healthier you in 2019:
• Focus on real food. Emphasize vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean meat, fish, and dairy products. The fewer the ingredients the better. Eating whole foods means you will be consuming less trans fats, added sugar, and sodium.
• Move more. Making time in your day to be active improves mood and decreases stress. Try simple things such as taking the stairs and walking outdoors.
• Get enough sleep. It’s a necessity, not a luxury. Insufficient sleep is associated with a number of chronic diseases and conditions (such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and depression). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults need seven or more hours of sleep every night; teens need eight to 10 hours; and school-aged children need nine to 12 hours.
• Be smoke- and tobacco-free.

Take measures to avoid preventable diseases:
• Prevent cervical cancer with the right test at the right time. Starting at age 21, get a Pap test every three years. After turning 30, you have a choice: Get a Pap test every three years; or get a combined Pap and human papillomavirus (HPV) test every five years. Talk with your primary care manager about options.
• Mammograms are the best way to find breast cancer early, when it’s easier to treat and before it’s big enough to feel. Starting at age 40, talk with your PCM about when to start and how often to get a mammogram. You have the choice to get an annual mammogram at age 40 and up. Call Radiology today (904-542-7782). It’s easy to schedule, with no need to see your PCM.
• If you’re age 50 or over, get screened now for colorectal cancer. It’s the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S., and third most common cancer in men and in women. Screening can find growths so they can be removed before turning into cancer. If you have risk factors, you might need to be tested earlier or more often. Talk to your PCM.
• Bring your child in for a check-up in the first month of life, and at 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months of age; and at ages 2, 2½, 3, 4, and 5 years. Check-ups track growth and development, prevent illness with immunizations, and answer your questions. Talk to your child’s PCM about check-ups during school-age years.
• If you have diabetes, see your health care team as directed and get your A1C test at least every year. This helps you and your provider better manage your health care. Make an appointment with your PCM. You can discuss strategies to manage diabetes at home, work, school, and while traveling. You can also talk with a diabetes nurse or our nutrition clinic, and ask about our Diabetes Wellness Team.

Medical Home Port teams (at the hospital or branch health clinic) are standing by to meet your preventive, routine, and urgent health care needs.

The hospital’s Wellness Center (located next to Naval Air Station Jacksonville’s Fitness Center) offers a variety of tools and classes (individual and group) that can help improve the health of active duty, retirees, and family members.

For starters, make an appointment for a body composition assessment. Wellness uses whole body densitometry, a precise method for determining body fat percentage. Staff provide test results and recommended diet and fitness approaches.

For those looking to eat healthier, Wellness offers “Choose My Plate,” a basic nutrition and healthy meal planning course. It offers ideas and tips for healthier eating.

For weight management, “ShipShape” is offered for families, retirees, and active duty. The program consists of two online classes and six individual sessions at the Wellness Center, and promotes healthy lifestyles, weight loss, and nutrition. Participants practice techniques for healthy eating, goal setting, dealing with emotional and social situations, problem-solving, and long-term behavior change.

For tobacco users, the Wellness Center offers one-on-one tobacco cessation support (including medication, patch and gum), to help get quit and stay quit.

To get started, stop by NH Jacksonville’s Wellness Center or call 904-542-5292, or talk to your PCM.

To make a PCM appointment, call 904-542-4677 (hospital), or 904-546-7094 (BHC Jacksonville ─ for active duty), or schedule online at www.TRICAREonline.com.

For immunizations, stop by or call 904-542-7810 (hospital) or 904-546-7050 (BHC Jacksonville ─ for active duty).

For 24/7 clinical advice, call the Nurse Advice Line at 800-TRICARE (800-874-2273) or chat at www.mhsNurseAdviceLine.com.

To securely email your care team (for non-urgent issues), sign up for free at www.TOLSecureMessaging.com.

Some follow-up services are available virtually. Navy Care enables you to have a live, virtual visit with your clinician on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. Ask your provider.

To view your care team’s PCMs, visit our website at www.med.navy.mil/sites/navalhospitaljax, click on Medical Home Port, and click on each team.

Give yourself the gift of health in 2019.

Naval Hospital Jacksonville and Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command Jacksonville deliver quality health care, in an integrated system of readiness and health. NH Jacksonville includes five branch health clinics across Florida and Georgia. It serves 163,000 active-duty and retired sailors, Marines, soldiers, airmen, guardsmen, and their families, including about 83,000 patients who are enrolled with a primary care manager. To find out more, visit www.med.navy.mil/sites/navalhospitaljax.

• Date Taken: 01.02.2019
• Date Posted: 01.02.2019 10:31
• Story ID: 306054
• Location: JACKSONVILLE, FL, US