April 13th, 2015
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The Lung Association of Saskatchewan and The Prince Albert Cooperative Health Centre are putting their best foot forward and making great strides towards improving lung health. The organizations have teamed up for the third time to help others quit smoking and become more physically active with their Learn to Run and Quit program.
The Prince Albert Learn to Run and Quit Spring program begins on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 5:00 pm and runs for eight consecutive weeks. This program is for people who smoke or have recently quit and who wish to become more physically active. The group will meet with their trainers every Monday for education and training sessions. For two more days a week they follow the training program on their own. The cost of this program is $30.00 per person. People will learn to walk or run 5 km, learn about nutrition, exercise, lung health and tips to quit smoking. Everyone who registers for the program will receive a training schedule, a running shirt, water bottle and resources from The Lung Association of Saskatchewan to help them quit smoking.
The program is led by Donna Turner and Valerie Borsos, two Respiratory Therapists and Certified Respiratory Educators from The Prince Albert Cooperative Health Centre who have a passion for fitness and lung health. They were looking for another method to help people quit smoking. The Respiratory Therapists decided to model their program after The Lung Association of Nova Scotia’s Learn to Run program for people who smoke, which they saw advertised online and were inspired to start a similar program in Prince Albert, SK. “We first ran this program in the spring of 2014 and found that it not only helped people quit smoking, but also helped people build confidence. In the fall we were happy to see the program grow as it more than doubled in the number of participants. We are excited to be up and running again and look forward to empowering more people to lead a healthier life” says Turner.
“The rationale behind this type of program is based on studies that have found that exercise has been shown to decrease nicotine cravings and withdrawal symptoms in addition to helping prevent weight gain,” says Jill Hubick, Health Promotions Coordinator with The Lung Association of Saskatchewan.
For more information or to join, please contact:
Donna Turner, Community Respiratory Care Program, Cooperative Health Centre
(306) 953-6259 available for in person interviews in Prince Albert
