Your support recently created a video movement series for individuals seeking care for lifestyle referrals through the Well4U program. This online program increases access to wellness support for individuals who may not be able to see a clinician immediately and provide immediate support for those seeking help. 

The Well4U program initially began in 2016 after My Health Teams in Winnipeg recognized that the majority of referrals that they received were for lifestyle questions such as sleep problems, stress management, nutrition, physical activity, smoking and substance use. My Health Teams, such as the team working out of ACCESS Fort Garry, are teams of care providers that work with you to make sure you get the care you need, when you need it. They work together to develop services to ensure people are more informed and involved in planning their own care.

Realizing that it wasn’t an efficient use of resources to meet with individuals one on one when many of the referrals were so similar, the concept of Well4U bloomed.

Thanks to your generosity, the Well4U team had the opportunity to develop a movement series in partnership with University of Manitoba Kinesiology Masters students and the Reh-Fit Centre that turned into a group class for individuals seeking guidance. With this series, rather than just talking about movement, they were actively showing clients how to do exercises, and helping them along the way.

Thanks to you, the Well4U team was able to create an online series of videos, since the Covid-19 pandemic started and the classes could no longer be offered in person. Your support made the movement series accessible online, and funded everything that was needed to film the videos for the movement series, including equipment rentals, honorariums for the instructors and actors, and helped to pay for the use of the space in the Reh-Fit Centre. Aimee Bowcott, Well4U Program Clinician, says “Without the grant, we would not have completed our series the way that it was intended to be.”

Individuals accessing the program online are able to choose from different levels of exercises for each module, and pick which level is better suited to their fitness level and lifestyle. Without your support, the team wouldn’t have been able to film such a comprehensive series that will help to change the lives of many individuals.

The program is now available online to anyone, and can be done anywhere; not only for individuals at home, but is also being used in hospitals or healthcare centres for inpatients. Bowcott notes, “We also made a facilitator guide with it, so clinicians can still do this series in person. So, you still have the option to do a facilitated version, or it could be self-directed online.”

Clinicians all across Manitoba are able to refer clients to the program, providing the opportunity for clients to learn more about treatment options without needing to wait. When speaking about the use of the program for clinicians, Bowcott says “From clinicians who have provided feedback, they love it, there are clinicians who say that they refer to it every day to show clients examples.”

 “So now, instead of us (My Health Teams) having to manage all of these similar referrals individually, we offer them this self-directed program so they can pick and choose what's the best thing that they want to learn about before coming to see the clinician and some people don't even want to come see the clinician after they've gone and checked out the content on the website.” – Aimee Bowcott

Thank you for helping to improve access to care for individuals through the Well4U movement series, making an impact on the health of our community every single day. Victoria Hospital Foundation is passionate about supporting quality, innovative, and accessible care through Victoria Hospital and our community service partners, ACCESS Fort Garry and Victoria Lifeline.