Tribes Keep Community Members Healthy through PATH Classes
Three tribes, the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, the Hannahville Indian Community, and the Bay Mills Indian Tribe, who are participating in the REACH US program are each offering Personal Action Towards Health (PATH) classes within their tribal communities. The PATH program teaches practical skills for living a healthy life with a chronic health condition like diabetes, arthritis, asthma, chronic pain, or heart disease. It was developed by Stanford University and has been shown to help people with lifelong health problems like diabetes, heart disease or asthma better manage their health conditions, feel better and spend less time in the hospital!
Most PATH classes meet once a week for six weeks. Each class lasts approximately for 2 ½ hours. Two trained leaders facilitate the classes; one or both may have a chronic health condition. Classes include brief educational sessions such as ways to deal with fatigue and pain, managing medications, planning visits with your health care providers, healthy eating and exercise. Participants also learn a variety of ways to manage stress and pain such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation and short-term distraction.
There is so much more to gain from attending a PATH class. Each week, participants engage in setting action plans in order to accomplish personal goals while making the most of assistance from fellow classmates. PATH is a supportive, encouraging, and practical way to self-manage chronic disease.
To learn more or to find out when PATH classes may be taking place in your area, please contact the following:
Bay Mills Indian Community:
Mary Bunker, (906) 248-8340, mbunker@baymills.org
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe:
Leah Markel, Phone: 906-248-5527 ext. 3276, lmarkel@sagchip.org
Hannahville Indian Community:
Erin Davis, Phone: 906-466-9208, edavis@hannahville.org
U.P. Diabetes Outreach Network:
Ann Constance, Phone 906-228-9203, ann@diabetesinmichigan.org
Recent Presentations
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan visual presentations are available for download