Pavilion at Queens Rehabilitation & Nursing

Gwendolyn Williams credits her Greater New York Benefit Fund health coverage with helping her manage two chronic conditions while maintaining a full-time schedule.

As a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at the Pavilion at Queens Rehabilitation & Nursing, Gwendolyn Williams has administered daily medications to her residents with chronic conditions for the past 18 years. About 10 years ago, Gwendolyn began taking her own daily medications when she was diagnosed with a thyroid condition and high blood pressure. “I went to my doctor for an annual checkup, which I never miss because of my benefits with the Greater New York Benefit Fund, and he gave me the news soon after,” she said. “To be honest, I was a little bit afraid and didn’t know what it all meant at first.”

Fortunately, Gwendolyn said, her doctor eased her fears, telling her that with medication and some changes in diet and exercise, she could continue to lead a full life. “I wasn’t totally surprised when I got the diagnosis,” she said. “I had been feeling tired and just not myself for a few months.”

To help keep her two conditions under control, Gwendolyn has made an effort to adopt healthier habits. She joined a health club near her home in Brooklyn and gets there about three times a week, she said. She also eats a healthier diet, with more lean meats, less fried food and lots of water. And while she still needs to take two pills a day to manage her conditions, she is no longer afraid. “I know that I have the best care, between my primary doctor and my thyroid specialist, who I see twice a year,” she said. “It’s incredibly reassuring.”

“To me, my benefits mean I never have to skip an appointment, I never skip my medications and I always get the care I need. It doesn’t get better than that.”

As a Greater New York member, Gwendolyn has a modest co-payment when she sees her thyroid specialist and no longer has a co-payment for prescription drugs—which, she said, gives her great peace of mind. “To me, my benefits mean I never have to skip an appointment, I never skip my medications and I always get the care I need,” Gwendolyn said. “It doesn’t get better than that.”

Liliana Calle of Montefiore Medical Center

A Benefit Fund Wellness workshop helped Liliana Calle make changes that lowered her stress level and eased her migraine headaches.

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Liliana Calle was just three blocks away from the World Trade Center when the buildings fell, leaving her shaken and stressed. The single mother, a Clinical Evaluator and Substance Abuse Specialist at Montefiore Medical Center, has been coping with stress ever since.

A few years ago, she began experiencing migraine headaches, sometimes several a week. The migraines led Liliana to see her doctor, who explained that eating a healthy diet and exercising might help reduce her stress—and relieve her headaches. “The migraines were finally telling me to stop and make time for myself,” she said.

Over the years, Liliana had also started to gain weight, and because she has a family history of heart disease, she began to worry about the effects of stress and the extra pounds on her heart. Then, reading an article in the Spring 2015 issue of For Your Benefit, she learned how heart disease could be prevented with a nutritious diet, exercise and stress management. She also saw an announcement for a Benefit Fund “Heart Healthy” workshop, and decided to attend. “I always made a conscious decision to eat healthy, but I wasn’t paying attention to the little details—the amount of fat, calories and sugar in my food,” she said. “I thought to myself, ‘I don’t drink, I don’t smoke,’ so I figured I was okay.”

At the workshop, Liliana was shocked to learn that there are 10 teaspoons of sugar in a can of soda, and 145 mg of sodium (salt) and 3 grams of fat in just one strip of bacon. She started making changes to her diet the next day. “I made small improvements that I learned would have a big impact on my health,” she said. To reduce her sugar intake, she replaced her after-work ice cream “treat” with fruit and has cut the amount of red meat in her diet. Although her 19-year-old son, Emanuel, loves red meat, Liliana began to replace it with chicken, ground turkey and lean pork, and she cooks fish three times a week.

Liliana also began walking 30 minutes a day. To fit exercise into her busy schedule, she now gets off the subway two or three stops away from her home in Queens and walks the rest of the way. She takes the stairs instead of the elevator and sometimes walks around Astoria Park after work. In just a few months, her migraines are almost completely gone. In fact, she’s had only one in the past two months. Liliana also lost three pounds and said she doesn’t feel as tired as she did before. “I have more energy and I feel less stressed. I was grumpy and easily irritated, and now I don’t feel that way,” she said. “But I have to remind myself to be inspired to be healthy each day. I had the tools in front of me but I didn’t know how to use them and stay committed to them. Now I do.”

Stacey Hylton of Hebrew Home at Riverdale

“I’m not as tired as I used to be, and I fit into clothes that I thought I’d never wear again. I also look forward to walking on my break time, because it helps lower my stress and energizes me.”

A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) at the Hebrew Home at Riverdale for more than 13 years, Stacey Hylton said that for her, the Workplace Wellness Initiative at Hebrew Home came along at just the right time. Begun in 2012, the jointly administered Union-Management-Fund initiative spurred the creation of wellness programs and weight-loss and exercise competitions at a number of 1199SEIU institutions and facilities. Though Stacey often thought about joining one, by the summer of 2014, she was ready to jump in. “I haven’t had any health problems,” she said. “But I do have a family history of high blood pressure and have wanted to lose weight for quite a while.”

Like many of us, Stacey put on weight gradually largely the result of eating an unhealthy diet and not exercising, she said. Her doctor began to make note of it during her annual visits and would recommend a better diet and more activity. She eventually took her doctor’s advice and made some changes to her diet even before a six-week walking competition at Hebrew Home began in June 2014. “The first few weeks were really hard,” she said. “I didn’t know what to eat!”

With advice from her doctor and a friend as well as research on healthy eating from the “Protecting Our Health” and “Live Healthy” sections of our www.1199SEIUBenefits.org, Stacey decided ate meat and try a vegetarian diet for three She had no idea that a year later, she’d still be eating fish and other seafood only, as well as lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains or that she’d feel so good about it. “I’m not as tired as I used to be, and I fit into clothes that I thought I’d never wear again,” she said. “I also look forward to walking on my break time, because it helps lower my stress and energizes me.”

Stacey was among the winners of the walking competition last summer, which involved monitoring her steps with a pedometer and walking with co-workers during her lunch break. By the end of the six weeks, she’d lost almost 20 pounds and, perhaps more important, was hooked on a new lifestyle and the camaraderie of getting healthier as a group. In total, Stacey has lost 30 pounds and is dedicated to maintaining her good health. During last year’s seemingly endless winter, she and her fellow walkers would do laps inside the facility, she said, but she couldn’t wait to get back outside. “I used to be winded after walking a couple of blocks,” she said. “Now I can go for a jog!”

Paula John of Flushing Manor Care Center

After making changes to her diet and increasing her exercise, Paula John is 20 pounds lighter and has a whole new outlook on healthy living.

When Paula John came to the United States in 1989 from her native St. Lucia, one of the first things she noticed was the abundance of fast-food chains. As she settled into the Queens neighborhood that’s been her home ever since, she realized the United States was not only a place of great opportunity, it was a nation full of junk food, sugar, excess calories and unhealthy additives. “I was not used to fast food and junk food being so available,” she said. “At first, it seemed convenient, but as time went by, I realized I was falling into bad habits.”

A Certified Nursing Assistant at Flushing Manor Care Center for 20 years, Paula became an 1 199SEIU member about eight years ago. Soon after she became eligible for healthcare coverage through the Greater New York Benefit Fund, she visited her primary care doctor. While she wasn’t exactly surprised to hear that she needed to change her lifestyle, she was finally ready to listen and, more important, to take action. ‘I had gained weight over the years as I was busy raising two kids,” Paula said. “But by the time I saw the doctor that day, I had become unhappy with myself and was feeling short of breath just doing my job and other daily activities.”

Her doctor told her that her blood pressure was elevated and if she didn’t start eating a healthier diet and losing some weight, she’d soon need medication to control her condition to reduce the risk of heart disease. It was exactly what Paula needed to hear. “As soon as he mentioned medication, something clicked,” she said. “I have a family history of hypertension. And as a healthcare worker, I care for residents with chronic conditions every day — I knew I wanted to avoid that path no matter what it took.”

Looking back now, she said, it wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be to make the necessary changes. But at the time, it seemed impossible. To get started, Paula joined an all-female fitness club in Queens, located on the route between her apartment and Flushing Manor. Three or four nights a week on her way home, she’d stop at the club and walk on the treadmill. After getting comfortable with the surroundings and working up to a brisk 20- or 30-minute walk over several weeks, she decided to try an exercise class. Now, Paula enjoys all kinds of cardio classes, dance classes and weight-training instruction. “I never would have had the confidence to take a class before,” she said. “But the group element has really helped me stay with it and not get bored.”

She also made changes to her diet, sticking to a diet low in carbohydrates and high in lean proteins like fish and chicken. She also eats lots of fruits and vegetables and dines out only occasionally. The family drinks lots of water and doesn’t keep soda, ice cream, cookies, chips or other unhealthy snacks in the house anymore. Her husband and their oldest daughter, now 18 years old and a freshman at Dartmouth College, were both healthy eaters all along, but her 13-year-old daughter has had a harder time adjusting to the healthier meals. “She’s a lot like me,” Paula said. “We both like fast food and sugar, but nowadays we save those treats for once a month, not once or twice a week.”

The best part of the changes has been the results, she added. Paula weighed 160 pounds when she began her journey to better health, and for the last year, she’s kept her weight steady at a healthy 140 pounds. For Paula, however, the results aren’t just measured in pounds or inches — her healthier lifestyle has also restored her confidence and enthusiasm. “After I work out, I always feel great and I sleep better at night,” she said. “It’s not a bad feeling to look in the mirror and like what you see!”