The MENTOR Wellness Program

The Rollin’ RNs are here to give a shout-out to a recent program I’ve been involved in for the past six weeks. This eight-week course that launched in July 2022 is taught by knowledgeable health coaches and has been a blast. We are sharing this information so you can be on the lookout for these classes and sign up to participate.

The program is called MENTOR (Mindfulness, Exercise, and Nutrition to Optimize Resilience). MENTOR was created for adults with disabilities, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and designed by the National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) in collaboration with the Lakeshore Foundation and the University of Alabama Birmingham (UAB). MENTOR’s holistic approach aims to restore, improve, and protect health across an individual’s lifespan.

This is a FREE 8-week program that includes 40 hours of instruction across 11 evidence-based wellness domains. Classes are led virtually in a live group format with five classes each week. They center around exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness with health coaching.

In the exercise classes, education on exercise fundamentals is followed by actual fitness and strengthening classes. And before the start of the program, a huge box of exercise equipment will be sent to your doorstep so be prepared to get assistance to bring the box into your home because it is big, bulky, and heavy. Trust me, the exercise classes are not wimpy wheelchair exercises, they are sweat-creating, cardio workouts. Yes, you do work your way up to the sweat exercises but remember, it’s only an eight-week program so it will require some participation on your own to maintain the stamina you’ve built up. Exercise classes are provided twice a week and they are truly enjoyable.

For the nutrition classes, a nutritionist not only teaches about healthy food choices but guides participants through making healthy recipes in real-time. This class also provides nutritional information such as reading food labels and understanding what is included in those labels. All to assist in making healthy food choices.

Led by trained professionals and health coaches, individuals in this program also receive interactive instruction on mindfulness and other wellness topics and behaviors and how to incorporate them into their daily routines.

EVERYONE, be on the lookout for this valuable program. It’s free with knowledgeable trainers and a great opportunity to socialize with others and will put you back on the train to healthy living in case you’ve been derailed. I know this nurse can occasionally fall off the healthy food bandwagon and she’s happy to be back onboard.

You can learn more and enroll in this free program at https://mentor.nchpad.org.

Residents of Virginia with SCI can join Sportable’s The MENTOR Wellness Program. Learn more at Sportable.org/mentor-program/.

It’s all good, so keep on rollin’,

Patty, BSN, RN, and Roberta, RN

The Rollin’ RNs ™

For more than 15 years, Sportable has created opportunities and transformed lives through sports for individuals with physical disabilities and visual impairments. The nonprofit organization provides sporting opportunities to nearly 500 athletes of all ages by offering competitive and recreational adaptive sports programs year-round. By fostering a fun, inclusive, competitive, and accessible environment, Sportable transforms the lives of athletes and frees them to see beyond their disabilities, enhances their peer relationships, and helps them to reach their personal finish line.

Photos property of MENTOR.