ACHS names Pat Reder DETC Outstanding Graduate award winner for 2010

Congratulations to Pat Reder, DETC Outstanding Graduate award winner for 2010!

DETC Outstanding Graduates represent the more than three million distance education students now studying with DETC member institutions.

Pat has worked as a registered nurse for about 30 years, including critical care and emergency and trauma medicine. She has always had an interest in holistic health because she feels there is “a need for an integrative approach between allopathic and holistic healthcare practices.” That is why Pat chose to enroll in ACHS’s Holistic Health Practitioner Diploma program, which she completed in December 2009, in addition to a Certificate in Nutrition, Bodycare, and Herbalism.

Her distance education experience with ACHS gave her “confidence to seek out opportunity,” Pat says. After finishing her first course, Pat says she was able to use the knowledge base from that course to approach her employer about incorporating wellness coaching into their services. She also has used her training to develop a wellness coaching program, which she successfully trialed with her co-workers, and has since “opened the door to marketing the wellness coaching program to their clients.”

To read Pat's full profile, visit: http://www.achs.edu/course-desc.aspx?pid=29&id=4

For more information on the DETC Outstanding Graduate awards, go to www.detc.org.

ACHS names Michael Edwards, Director of Thee Wellness Institute, DETC Famous Alumni award winner for 2010

Congratulations to Michael Edwards, DETC Famous Alumni award winner for 2010!

The DETC Famous Alumni award honors distance education graduates who meet select criteria or academic records and the quality of their contribution to their chosen profession and society in general.

Michael, who graduated with a Certificate in Nutrition, Bodycare, and Herbalism, says, “The first acceptance I had at ACHS made a big difference to me, and it motivated me to read and teach as often as possible. I feel I’m doing my share to give people back control of their health.”

Since completing his Certificate, Michael has completed his master’s degree and launched Thee Wellness Institute (previously The NC Health and Wellness Institute), specializing in preventative health programs and natural products for the community. Edwards also worked as the Clinical Health Educator at Cherry Point Marine Base before accepting the position of Education Program Manager at Patrick Air Force Base. While in this position, Edwards has developed several health-promoting programs and has led motivational wellness classes for thousands of service members in the U.S. Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard.

Read Michael's complete profile here: http://www.achs.edu/alumni/alumni-spotlight.aspx?spid=43

For more information about the DETC and this award, check out www.detc.org.

Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation: Healthy Living Highlights

Census Bureau Releases 2010 Statistical Abstract Depicting the State of Our Nation: Healthy Living Highlights

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2010:

• There were more than 20,000 farms in 2007 engaged in organic production on more than 2.5 million acres. Sales of organically produced commodities totaled $1.7 billion, of which more than $1.1 billion were organic crops and $600 million organic livestock and poultry and poultry products. (Table 807).
• In 2007, the complementary and alternative medicine therapies most commonly used by U.S. adults in the past 12 months were nonvitamin, nonmineral and natural products (17.7 percent), deep breathing exercises (12.7 percent), meditation (9.4 percent), chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (8.6 percent), massage (8.3 percent) and yoga (6.1 percent). (Table 161)



Source: http://www.census.gov/prod/www/abs/statab2006_2010.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/texting-more-than-doubles-in-the-last-year-79298517.html

MyCAA Provides Up To $6,000 in Financial Assistance to Military Spouses

The American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) has been approved to participate in the Department of Defense (DoD) Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (MyCAA) program.

MyCAA provides financial assistance to military spouses pursuing degrees, licenses, or credentials leading to employment in Portable Career Fields, including holistic nutrition, wellness consulting, and holistic health. Eligible military spouses can receive up to $6,000 in financial assistance to be used for education and training programs, tuition, and licensing/credentialing fees, including Associates, Bachelors, and Masters programs. MyCAA can also be used for course books and supplies needed for the participant’s chosen profession. ACHS Career Advancement Account recipients are currently enrolled in the Certificate in Natural Products Manufacturing and Associate of Applied Science in Complementary Alternative Medicine programs, among others.

As outlined on the MyCAA FAQs, the goals of the program include: To “seek schools and programs that offer academic degrees, licenses and certificates that lead to employment in Portable Career Fields; seek spouses who are ready to start classes within 90 days; and make financial assistance (FA) available to as many eligible spouses as possible with highest priority on spouses who are ready to start classes within 90 days of opening a MyCAA account.”

Eligible participants are spouses of DoD active duty service members or members of the National Guard and Reserve Components. Guard and Reserve member spouses are eligible “from the date of the Alert or Warning Order for Military Recall or Mobilization, through activation and deployment until 180 days following De-Mobilization.” To be eligible, participants must pass the Defense Eligibility and Enrollment Reporting System (DEERS) screen.

To get started, military spouses should visit the MyCAA website to establish an account at https://aiportal.acc.af.mil/mycaa. For specific questions about ACHS courses and MyCAA and ACHS enrollment eligibility, military spouses should contact ACHS Admissions to speak with a student advisor. ACHS Admissions can be reached at (800) 487-8839 from Monday-Friday, 8:30 am-5:30 pm, PST, and by email at admissions@achs.edu.

Natural Product Recipes and Tips from ACHS Annual Winter Celebration

The 6th Annual ACHS Winter Celebration was a great success! We had more than 40 people attend the workshop, where ACHS President Dorene Petersen demonstrated how to make natural products to support a holistic lifestyle (including herb sugar scrub, aromatherapy and herb bath salt blend, peppermint foot scrub, essential oil blending, and how to make natural lavender and hops sleep pillows).

All of the recipes from the workshop's demonstrations can be downloaded for free from the Apothecary Shoppe College Store website. Click here: http://www.apothecary-shoppe.com/product_info.php?cPath=45&products_id=1548

Here are some of the tips and suggestions for making and using natural products that were shared with workshop participants throughout the day:

• When stressed, it is important to calm the sympathetic nervous system (responsible for the "fight or flight" response). To do this, use some deep breathing at least twice a day.
• Store natural products carefully. Air and light can diminish the active constituents in herbs and essential oils.
  
• Coat your body in your favorite base oil and essential oil blend in the morning before you step into the shower. This will stimulate your senses and hydrate at the same time.
• When making a natural product that requires the use of glycerin, make sure your glycerin is plant-based. Glycerin is a humectant and holds in moisture.
  
• After you have stripped lavender from its stalk, do not throw the stalk away. You can use lavender stalks in fireplaces/fire pits to add some soothing hints of lavender.

For more tips like these and to watch Dorene's demonstrations from the Winter Celebration do two things:
#1 Become a Fan of ACHS: http://www.facebook.com/ACHSedu
#2 Subscribe to ACHStv on YouTube, where we have posted hours of instructional holistic health videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/achstv

New courses from ACHS: Personal and Community Health & Introduction to Nutrition

ACHS will launch two new courses for 2010 starting January 18, Personal and Community Health (HLTH 101) and Introduction to Nutrition (NUT 101), in response to the growing demand for accredited health and nutrition training.

“Prevention is the future of health care,” says ACHS President Dorene Petersen. “It’s not just about curing a particular problem, but about using a series of health-related tools to identify the root cause of health challenges so that we can make valuable lifestyle changes to help promote optimum health. Health and nutrition education are key for making healthy lifestyle choices. Most people aren’t taught how to read food labels, for example. If we don’t know how to evaluate our food, we can’t make the best choices. There’s a gap in our education. These new courses will teach students how to make good choices for their own health and life, and how to help others do the same for sustainable, long-term wellness.”

ACHS’s new courses—Personal and Community Health and Introduction to Nutrition—are designed for personal interest and as an introduction to holistic health and wellness for healthcare professionals who want to integrate CAM.

American College of Healthcare Sciences (ACHS) announces two new courses for 2010 starting January 18, Personal and Community Health (HLTH 101) and Introduction to Nutrition (NUT 101), in response to the growing demand for accredited health and nutrition training.

As interest in complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and “emphasis on disease prevention through improved dietary habits,” increases, so is the demand for health care and wellness professionals with accredited training to provide food and nutrition counseling in hospitals, residential care facilities, schools, prisons, community health programs, and home health care agencies, as reported by “Top 10 Fastest Growing Allied Health Careers” featured on HealthDegrees.com.

“Prevention is the future of health care,” says ACHS President Dorene Petersen. “It’s not just about curing a particular problem, but about using a series of health-related tools to identify the root cause of health challenges so that we can make valuable lifestyle changes to help promote optimum health. Health and nutrition education are key for making healthy lifestyle choices. Most people aren’t taught how to read food labels, for example. If we don’t know how to evaluate our food, we can’t make the best choices. There’s a gap in our education. These new courses will teach students how to make good choices for their own health and life, and how to help others do the same for sustainable, long-term wellness.”

ACHS’s new courses—Personal and Community Health and Introduction to Nutrition—are designed for personal interest and as an introduction to holistic health and wellness for healthcare professionals who want to integrate CAM.

Personal and Community Health (HLTH 101) introduces concepts and skills to identify and help students develop a healthy lifestyle for themselves, their family, and their community. The focus of the course is on day-to-day choices and challenges, and includes stress management, basic nutrition, physical fitness, substance abuse, reproductive health, body weight, environmental health, and death and dying.

Introduction to Nutrition (NUT 101) focuses on introductory nutrition concepts and tools for healthy eating. The components of food (including protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals) are examined, and curriculum includes discussion of hunger in the U.S. and abroad.

Both courses earn credit towards the Associate of Applied Science in Complementary Alternative Medicine (AAS), and can be applied to some certificate programs, including the Certificate in Holistic Nutrition Consulting.

>>Read the full-length press release here: http://www.achs.edu/news/news-detail.aspx?nid=207