A wellness concierge? Part One -

 He hesitated before - stepping to the microphone, his sole anchor to the convention meeting room crowd. About 20, he estimated, scattered about the chairs numbering 100....the thoughts fly, as seconds ticked by to bring the start of my presentation: is the premise just TOO CRAZY? Will they see the holes that I SEE, in the logic of the presentation? Where can I HIDE, until they just GO AWAY in confusion? Darn it, here comes the session coordinator - hearing my provenance for the presentation as a background noise, I am ready. Gotta sell this! To the mic now, and -

"HIIIII - glad you could be here, and draw on that good night's rest you got last night, for the LAST DAY 8 o'clock session! You lucky people! Here we go. You're here, I hope, to learn about what the heck a WELLNESS CONCIERGE is, and why - audiologists and speech-language pathologists should be ready to assume this role, as a next step in their careers."

 "Disclosures: my practice does include - possibly the only wellness concierge web - based subscription platform, amidst the CSD community.  I also belong to my local Chamber of Commerce, which allows me to network with numerous peers in my business market area". 

"Here we go. A CONCIERGE can be broadly described as a person you meet, at the entrance to a building.  That person has the skill and resources to guide you through what the building, or in this case, the wellness industry has to offer. But the questions should abound: Why wellness? Why should CSD professionals take this on? Why is this added focus to our work lives so important now?"

"Ten of the top 10 causes of death in the US (NCHS, 2019), also bring significant disability into functional domains where CSD professions work. Though there has been significant reduction of mortality rates for heart disease, for example, the rate of reduction for deaths has slowed in recent years. Heart disease and its co-occurring morbidities are also striking in greater numbers,  persons of younger age; - perhaps prompted by an increased rate of obesity in young people. There is then, a moral imperative as well as a scientific clarity, for bringing wellness to the larger sphere of healthcare. Namely, us. We are part of the larger sphere, we CSD professionals".  

 

"So I am saying that audiologists and speech - language pathologists grow their clinical practices for all  ages, in a fashion that reflects the true intent of the 1988 statement of ASHA's Prevention Committee - namely, to push ahead and help our communities lessen or eliminate risk factors leasing to disability. This presentation focuses on how the wellness concierge framework, might benefit primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD)."

 

"Aphasia. Vascular dementia. Cochlear hearing loss. Labyrinthitis. Auditory processing disorder. The list goes on: insults to bodily function that arise from cardiovascular system breakdowns. When Aud's and SLP's are part of the solution to reducing CVD insilts, we help accomplish many objectives:

" * We naturally raise the visibility of our professions, audiology AND speech-language pathology, when we are active in the broader community, interacting in collaboration with other human service workers for health (fitness trainers, dieticians, smoking cessation specialists, gardeners, etc.)"

" * We grow our knowledge base for helping our consumers, when we reach from tertiary prevention (reducing the odds for disability), and secondary prevention (identifying potential impairments for bodily function) to primary prevention (reducing or eliminating exposure to risk factors for CVD)". 

" * When we help the larger community access wellness information, services, and ways to sustain their desired level of function, we develop potential consumers who may be educated on accessing services, when/if the need might arise. "

"That's the rationale for becoming a wellness concierge, in capsule form. Now, how many forms will wellness concierge work take? They could include -  

" * Communication Fitness  - see the post for the 'Pretty Wonderful, Communication' blog, dated April 23, 2017"

" * Hosting events such as lectures, demonstrations, or gatherings to commemorate days, months or holidays relevant to a prevention topic (for example, October 1 is 'World Vegetarian Day')"

" * Directing curious consumers to community events that highlight a prevention topic, such as charity or fitness run/walks; chef - directed food and wine events vs. culinary school restaurant offerings; and presentations by medical vs. complementary and alternative medicine professionals; - "

" There's what we will do - now, after a short break, we'll reassemble and discuss HOW we will do each one - "