Jazzercise classes previously reserved for patients at the University of Nebraska Medical Center with multiple sclerosis are now open to members of the public with MS.
The classes take place on Monday and Wednesday evenings and are held in the basement of the Storz Pavilion in the Clarkson Tower, which is part of The Nebraska Medical Center, UNMC’s hospital partner.
At a recent class, Janelle Baber sat in her motor scooter, performing the aerobic activity at her own pace. She used her hands to help move her feet, and incorporated resistance tubes and hand weights when she could.
The 54-year-old Omahan said she feels better than she did prior to joining the class. Diagnosed 12 years ago, Baber’s MS has progressively gotten worse, weakening the left side of her body, but things are looking up.
"I’m noticing an improvement in my weaker side," she said after a recent workout, "and I’m pleasantly surprised at how good I feel."
She has Kathy Healey, Ph.D., a nurse practitioner in the neurological sciences department and the UNMC MS clinic, to thank for that. Dr. Healey is the brains behind the Jazzercise for MS patients program.
Funded by a grant from the Nebraska Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society, the pilot program began about two months ago. So far, evaluations have revealed that people are willing to pay out-of-pocket to attend the classes.
"I take care of people with MS and have found that after their formal physical therapy program, they find it hard to incorporate regular exercise into their lives," Dr. Healey said. "They’d try to do it at home, but it just didn’t work. Most people do better in group settings, where there’s more social interaction and a sense of accountability."
Baber can attest to that. During a recent weeklong break between classes, she tried to Jazzercise on her own, but found it just wasn’t the same.
"The stuff we do in class is stuff you could do at home, but there’s just something about being around people and music that makes you want to exercise," she said.
Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease that attacks the central nervous system causing mild to severe symptoms ranging from numbness in the limbs to paralysis and loss of vision.
"Aerobic exercise can help with the fatigue, and it also can help to build muscles for strength and balance," Dr. Healey said. "It leaves people energized and feeling better."
Also helping with the energy level at classes are Mary Beth Brandeau and Sally Lorenzen, Jazzercise instructors. A physical therapy assistant by day, Brandeau is attuned to issues that arise when those with disabilities exercise, so she modifies her moves for them. She also sings along to the lyrics, cracks jokes and interacts with the class.
"She makes it fun, so it’s not like a chore to exercise," said Dr. Healey, who participates in the classes. Dr. Healey along with nurses from the MS clinic — Terry Munsinger and Dottie Norgard — are there to provide support and assistance to women who need it. Participants are also welcome to bring a buddy to help them for free if they like.
Baber does most everything on her own. It makes class feel more like a "regular" Jazzercise that way.
"It’s like I feel normal," she said. "We’re just like other people going to Jazzercise class — we laugh, we moan, we sweat and at the end, we feel productive."
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $80 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
With a reputation for excellence, innovation and extraordinary patient care, The Nebraska Medical Center has earned J.D. Power and Associates’ Hospital of Distinction award for inpatient services for three consecutive years. It also received the 2007 Consumer Choice Award, a mark of patient satisfaction as selected by healthcare consumers and has achieved Magnet recognition status for nursing excellence, Thomson 100 Top Hospitals Performance Improvement Leader recognition, as well as the Award of Progress from the state of Nebraska’s Edgerton Quality Awards Program. As the teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this 689 licensed bed academic medical center has an international reputation for providing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation services and is well known nationally and regionally for its oncology, neurology and cardiology programs. The Nebraska Medical Center can be found online at www.nebraskamed.com