Wellness University

June 2008 Calendar

The Wellness University is a community-wide adherence program that coordinates the medical treatment and supportive services of persons with HIV/AIDS. This is accomplished through a Wellness Plan that provides clients/students with skills necessary to live a high quality of life with HIV/AIDS. Credits are earned as students utilize medical treatment and supportive services. These credits can then be used for incentives as they complete their "Degree in Wellness."

The Wellness University is now located at 43 North Cleveland.

The mission of the Wellness University (WU) program is to assist in the development of quality lifestyles for people living with HIV/AIDS though education, vocational referrals, medical adherence, and related social activities.

The overall objective of WU is to increase the overall adherence of homeless and low-income persons with HIV/AIDS with their medical treatment for the disease and with supportive services such as alcohol and drug abuse treatment and mental health treatment. This objective will be accomplished by the coordination of the medical and supportive services provided to persons with HIV/AIDS into an individualized Wellness Plan that meets the needs of the clients.

WU uses volunteers from our Board of Directors, other agencies, professional educators, and interested community stakeholders to teach most of its classes. The cost of these classes would be prohibitive if it were not for these volunteers. Each month at least 100 volunteer hours estimated at costing $14.84 per hour is given to this important program. This does not include the usage of professionals such as nurses, doctors, nutritionists, pharmacists, teachers, and others who regularly come to host seminars at no cost to WU. St. Francis Hospital sponsors gift certificates from Wal-Mart for students as they are promoted. These range from $25.00 to $50.00. This amount may seem small, but it means a lot to our students living on fixed incomes.

Participants of the 4th Annual Wellness Retreat walk the labyrinth.

 

Curriculum

Consumer Rights Curriculum

1. Medical Legal Rights (clinical trial disclosures, medical directives, paperwork routinely signed in doctors office
2. Living Wills
3. Health care directives (do not resuscitate etc)
4. Pre Paid Burials
5. Duty To Warn
6. Government Benefits (SSI/SSDI, Food Stamps, AFDC)
7. Job Training Benefits
8. Back To Work (how it affects benefits)
9. Insurance (Life, Health, Job, Vitacal Settlements)
10. Wills (property, guardianships of children, etc)
11. Discrimination (Americans With Disabilities Act, job, housing etc)
12. HIPPA, Confidentiality

Need More Information

For additional information regarding the Wellness University, please contact Windy Nicholson at 901.272.0855.

Participating Organizations

The community agencies collaborating with Friends For Life in the Wellness University and the services they will provide in the curriculum are:

• Regional Medical Center Adult Special Care Clinic – Medical treatment, medication adherence education, support groups
• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – Medical treatment, educational sessions, and counseling
• Methodist Teaching Practice – Medical treatment
• Infectious Disease Associates – Medical treatment
• Memphis Health Center – Medical treatment
• Peabody Family Care – Medical treatment
• Family Services of the Mid-South – Mental health, alcohol and drug abuse treatment, support groups, financial case management
• Hope House – Support groups and educational sessions
• Peabody House – Case management
• Community HIV Care Network – Educational sessions, special events, and consumer advocate involvement
• Memphis/Shelby County Health Department – Nutritional counseling
• University of Tennessee Health Science Center – Occupational Therapists

Just Diagnosed with HIV?

If you have recently been diagnosed with HIV, then you probably have lots of questions running through your mind. Visit our Newly Diagnosed Center or check out this great web site to get answers to many of those questions.

You may also visit http://www.thebody.com/learning.html to get more information that will help you cope with HIV.

Until There's A Cure makes grant to Friends For Life (read more).

Women’s Foundation Awards Grant to Friends For Life (read more).

Friends For Life’s Wellness University Students Progress (read more).

First Tennessee Foundation Grant To Support Economic Empowerment (read more).

Walgreens Pharmacist Onsite at Friends For Life

Cooking Classes Help Improve Nutrition for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS