Wellness Programs

HealthFinders' wellness programs offer nutrition and exercise classes, diabetes support and education, home visits, teen services and more.

Pura Vida Healthy Lifestyles

The Pura Vida Program offers free fitness and nutrition classes to provide participants with the tools, knowledge, and inspiration to journey toward a healthy lifestyle. Classes are offered in Faribault and Northfield during weekday evenings for anybody interested in becoming more active or maintaining a healthier and happier lifestyle.

Pura Vida classes offer a fun and supportive group environment in which participants engage in cardiovascular and strength training to improve their overall health. With Zumba® Fitness, participants exercise while enjoying Latin and International rhythms. And for those looking to reduce stress, Pura Vida offers yoga classes through the help of community volunteers. All classes are an hour long. Many are led by volunteers, bilingual in Spanish and English.

No previous exercise experience is necessary, and all classes are free and open to the public! Childcare and transportation are available upon request, according to availability.

For more information on the Pura Vida Program, contact us.

Diabetes Program

The Diabetes Program provides group-based support and education to equip those diagnosed with diabetes with the tools they need to successfully understand and manage their diabetes at home. Program participants meet quarterly to provide continuing social and educational support for diabetes management. Participants receive diabetes testing supplies, medications, education, and medical care, along with individual clinician consultations that are available as necessary. The program is available in Northfield and Faribault.

Program Topics

Eating for diabetes control
Blood glucose testing
How to make the most of your medicine
Exercising for your health

All classes are led in Spanish or co-led by a bilingual facilitator and clinician.

Program Eligibility

HealthFinders doctors and nurses refer patients to the Diabetes Program and the care coordinator assists patients with enrollment. The clinic coordinator then completes the intake process. New participants meet with the diabetes nurse coordinator to learn more about the program and to set goals.

Participant Responsibilities

Diabetes Program participants are asked to attend and participate in monthly classes, fulfill lab and clinic appointments or give a 24-hour cancellation notice, and bring pill bottles and monitoring logs to all appointments. Participants are also asked to do their best to make recommended changes to their medications, diet, and lifestyle and to be open and honest with clinic staff.

Contact Emily for more information:

Emily Carroll
507.646.8964
carroll.emily@healthfindersmn.org

Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Program

The Home Blood Pressure Monitoring Program encourages health care providers in the community to refer patients with hypertension to HealthFinders. If patients are willing, they then connect with our community health workers and we loan blood pressure monitoring cuff to begin our six week evaluation program. The goal is to determine whether the patient does in fact suffer from chronic hypertension, and if so, develop a plan for treating it.

Community health workers will check in with patients in the program every week to record their blood pressure readings. After six weeks, their provider will then decide whether to extend the program based on what the patient’s readings uncover, and together they will develop a long-term plan for treatment – which may include lifestyle changes such as taking Zumba or exercise classes, removing identified stress factors, and connecting to other helpful resources for hypertension treatment. 

Contact Jeny Teletor for more information: teletor.jeny@healthfindersmn.org.

Eliminating Health Disparities

MESA Teen and Family Health

Mejorando la Salud de los Adolescentes (MESA) is a collaborative project, made possible by a grant from the Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI). MESA was created to engage the community in reducing the gap between non-Latinx and Latinx teen pregnancy rates and HIV/STIs in Rice County. It partners with Growing Up Healthy, Northfield Healthy Community Initiative, and Rice County Family Services Collaborative to provide the Teen Outreach Program (TOP) and the Comadres/Compadres Pregnancy Prevention Program.

Contact Jeny Teletor for more information: teletor.jeny@healthfindersmn.org.