ASG-SLC Next meeting & Summer Vacation 2007 (no meetings)

The next Arthritis Support Group of South Lake County meeting will take place May 4th, Friday, at 12-1:30PM, located in the National Training Center/ Education Department on the South Lake Hospital campus in Clermont. Elizabeth Morse, MDiv, Spiritual Care Coordinator at South Lake Hospital, will be giving a presentation on “Relaxation and Guided Imagery”. She is licensed as a Guided Imagery specialist and is very knowledgeable about reducing chronic pain thru relaxation. Come join us and maybe leave with LESS pain! Bring a friend, sweater and snack. Fee: FREE. Brochures, pamphlets and literature are available during the meeting.

We will not meet during the summer (June, July & August) and resume our monthly support group meetings starting again on September 7th, Friday with Dr. Kenneth Stark, Rheumatologist, as our special guest speaker.

For more information call Meg King (352) 243-2098.

Indoor Pool vs Outdoor Pool?

Our Arthritis Support Group of South Lake County, Florida, also is an activist group in our community to help identify and persuade potential donors (corporate and individuals) to build an indoor heated pool on our South Lake Hospital campus in Clermont, FL, for people in our area that need aquatic therapy and exercise since we can not tolerate cold water and land exercise. Go figure – we live in Florida and do not have an indoor pool for winter (It does get cold in Central Florida). Our Arthritis, surgeries, prescribed rehabilitation therapy, pre and post operative needs for aquatic exercise would be most beneficial in an indoor pool facility. An outdoor pool is too cold for people with Arthritis (typically 79-82 degrees). The Arthritis Foundation recommends water to be 83-86 degrees for aquatic exercise to be worthwhile. This is impossible to maintain 12 months out of the year in our area. Now is the time to build our indoor pool! Suggestions are welcome about this special project. Do you have an indoor pool in your area? What is it like? How did you spearhead a project like this one? How does one approach a Hospital Board of Directors and prove this project is worthwhile?