With all of us working under new and challenging circumstances during this time of COVID, our ability to work on wellness and prevention is affected—eating healthily, keeping physically and mentally active, maintaining healthy social and familial relationships, getting good sleep and rest, and staying on top of preventive screenings and other preventive activities. Here’s some tips on how we can stay healthy in the midst of an ongoing pandemic.

Maintain prevention practices. First things first, we are currently in a worsening pandemic and it’s easy for all of us to slowly become complacent on prevention as it drags on and the seasons change.

• Maintain >6 feet from non-household members.
• Wear a mask (covering both nose and mouth).
• Wash your hands.
• Limit/reconsider in-person gatherings and non-essential travel.
• If you’re feeling sick, ask for help (Employee Health for testing, friends/family, meal/grocery delivery, EAP, PCP, etc.).
• If you work in close contact with patients, please continue to be mindful of the risk of drift from infection control practices.

For many of us, working from home can be a significant adjustment with new benefits and challenges. Some find more time with reduced commutes to spend on hobbies, on health and with family, and some will struggle with the lack of social contact, loss of motivation, behavioral health problems, and/or loss of delineation between work and home.

Some tips for staying healthy while working from home:

• If you work at a desk, take a walking/moving break every 30 minutes to refresh and reduce disease risks (“sitting is the new smoking”).
• Maintain social contact with colleagues via TEAMS.
• Find ways to maintain boundaries between work and life.
• Avoid indulging in unhealthy habits such as consuming alcohol, high calorie foods, large portions and smoking.
• Use the time otherwise spent on commuting on productive or healthful activities such as sleep, exercise, cooking healthy foods, learning/reading, time with family.
• See your primary care doctor for additional preventive screening and activities.

Challenges of working on-site. Those of us adjusting to the new normal of commuting with less traffic, working on-site can bring its own challenges, too. The social distancing and masks (and PPE) become that much more important while being in such close quarters with coworkers and patients. While Valley has been constantly improving the safety of our work environment with continual feedback from all of us, it can still feel challenging to come to work with the additional stress and anxiety associated with various uncertainties associated with the ongoing crisis. We have a number of resources to help with the stress and anxiety, including support from Valley’s Psychiatry and Counseling Clinic at 425.690.7590, as well as from our Employee Assistance Program at 800. 854.1446. It can also be worthwhile to try some mindfulness or meditation apps as another stress management tool.

What all of us can do to improve our health. For all of us, we can benefit from being aware of where we can improve our health. Some places to look are as follows:

• Eat at least 5 servings daily of fruits and vegetables.
• Do at least 150 minutes per week of purposeful physical activity (moderate intensity or higher).
• Get restful sleep for 7 - 9 hours a day.
• Lower saturated fat content in diet (reduce processed and red meats and solid fats such as butter, lard, and cheese).
• Lower sodium intake to no more than 2.3 grams per day (usually lowered to 1.5 grams if having high blood pressure).
• Maintain a healthy weight—typically this is BMI 18.5-24.9 and 18.5-22.9 for people of Asian descent.
• If applicable—quit smoking, drink less than two drinks/day for men and less than one drink/day for women (and avoid binge drinking).
• Keep up with recommended preventive cancer and chronic disease screenings with your primary care provider.

Valley’s new employee clinic is here to help YOU live your best life! At MyHealth Clinic, we have a team consisting of two providers, three care team coordinators, a Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and an RN Care Manager dedicated to help you with reaching these goals to achieve a healthier you. So, if you don’t already have a Valley PCP and are looking for new primary care, please give our clinic a try—call 425.690.3560 to set up an initial appointment. And if you’ve already established with us at the MyHealth Clinic, you can directly schedule an appointment via MyChart so we can help with these wellness measures, screenings, or any other concerns.