Saipan hospital launches Project Fit

Just before four o’clock Wednesday afternoon, about 30 employees of the Commonwealth Health Center gathered atop Navy Hill to embark on a one-mile trek in an effort to improve their health as Project Fit entered its third day of operation.

“This is a pilot project, and they are getting fit. We’re going to be working with 30 people over the course of four months and we hope to empower them to make lifestyle changes through a series of physical exercise learning sessions every other week,” said program manager Lynn Tenorio.

According to Tenorio, the whole purpose of the program is to reduce chronic disease within the community. All participants are volunteers who signed up for the four-month project that started with an initial assessment of their overall health.

The administrators performed a lipid test, a glucose test (for diabetes), checked their tri-glycerides, tested their blood pressure, and did a comparison of the individuals height and weight to determine their level of risk for chronic disease.

Tenorio said she and nutritionist Jill Vanderkin; Sharon Daves, public health prevention specialist from the Centers for Disease Control; and Tina Camacho developed the project’s protocol in the course of six months.

“It’s something that our division had been thinking about and our Deputy Secretary of Public Health Pete Untalan is someone who has been very, very influential, trying to get the help of his staff. Because of that, he wanted our department to initiate a pilot project.”

Once a week, the volunteers will have a “brown bag” lunch meeting, during which they will be given some nutritional education and information that will help them better understand the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. They will also be tested throughout the length of the program to determine what sort of impact the walking and exercise have on their overall health.

“I think that it’s a great way that the people who are educating the community about public health get an education themselves about what it takes to be healthy and fit. I think that we, as public health workers, forget the lessons we teach others and oftentimes do not practice the same fitness, diet exercises, and fitness that we tell others to follow. This is our way of improving the quality of our lives and how to be an example to others on how to live a good happy and healthy life,” said CHC/DPH public information officer John Douglas.

Melissa Sablan has been handling the release of records at the CHC for over seven years, and she enjoys the new program, although she is no stranger to walking long distances.

“I missed the first day, but I’ve been walking from CHC to DPS, so this is nothing new for me.”

Sablan’s husband, Jim, works for the Department of Public Safety, and she says that he and her fellow employees are behind her 100-percent.

“My husband said that he is really up for this. He wants me to do it because he is concerned about my health, and the people at work are really pushing me forward, not holding me back,” Sablan said.

Cindy Pangelinan works in the accounting office and has been with the CHC for 20 years. She said that this is the first time that the hospital’s agencies have put together a program like this, and though she enjoys participating, it’ll take a bit of getting used to.

“My muscles are a little sore, but I feel great. I guess I need another week to loosen up. My goal is to lose 20 lbs. I volunteered because this is a great thing,” she said.

Pangelinan shared that she has never done this sort of activity before, but that she has tried to exercise on her own unsuccessfully.

“I tried doing this on my own but only for about three weeks and then I stopped because there was no one to encourage me. I like this because it’s a group. I’ll try my best to stick to this.”