Today we're welcoming two Clemson Extension Health agents
to our studio. Amber Wilson you are based in Barnwell and tell
me what your responsibilities are.
Yes Ma'am. So in Barnwell county as a Health extension agent
with Clemson we work on
different focus areas. And we're a partner with the Medical
University of South Carolina for these. So we reduce infant
mortality. We work on reducing childhood obesity, promoting
treatment for individuals living in chronic pain,
providing access to women's cancer screenings such
as cervical cancer and breast cancer. And we also deliver
hypertension programs and pre-diabetes programs.
Gracious goodness! Paris Mebane,
I think we need to go and rest after that
long litany of things that you're doing but tell me which
one of the programs, This is going to be hypertension
control recipe and and this is something you use? Tell me how
this fits in with that class. Healthy eating and physical
activity and stress management, those are all things we talk
about in our hypertension class. And today we're just going
to make a quick healthy recipe. How many people, how many
adults in South Carolina have hypertension?
Well over half the adult population
in South Carolina they actually have hypertension.
So this is, There's a big need here for this class.
Let's start and start putting this together.
Let's talk about how it's going to go. So first we have our
strawberry yogurt. And we do a low-fat version because it's a
healthier option. Okay. And you've told me that you had
people who've done a pretty good job losing a little weight
in your class. We had one lady lose about five pounds. Usually
our participants see a decline in their blood pressure readings
They increase their physical activity by the end of the
program. So we just see a whole lot of real good like stuff
come out of the class. That's exciting.
And how many times do the people meet with you?
They actually meet with us about eight times.
But some groups they can't
really devote to the eight sessions. So we kind of can
condense it into four weeks. Okay. So yeah! Alright,
let's take a look at what's coming next.
Now we have some blueberry yogurt that we're going to
add in.
And we're starting out making a
complete bowl and this is something you would do if
you were going to have it just for your family I think. Yes.
And so then we're going to let you start. And we're going to
start making little ones in case you're having a dinner party.
Cause you can have healthy eating with any kind of meal.
Can't you? You can. And so tell me how you. How you usually
Amber how do you find your participants?
So participants come in different ways. Some
people actually call me and say, 'Hey I heard you have a
hypertension program. Can you work with my group? Or even
I'll advertise on Facebook and the newspaper. Okay. Flyers.
wherever I see the people and I feel like it'll be a good
opportunity, we'll work with them. Even churches,
also. Okay and I'm adding the vanilla yogurt
again low-fat And then we're
going to top this off with something that's going to be a
lot of fun, a lot of crunch. How about that? Absolutely.
So I feel that, you know one of the things I say is that
people especially in our rural counties sometimes don't have
the access to healthcare. Is this something that you feel
y'all can kind of help fill in the gaps and be able to work
with physicians? Yes ma'am. So we actually me at different
doctors' offices around the county.
Wonderful! We actually meet anywhere that we
can get a group formed we go out and do it. We do it a lot of
community centers and things like that. Okay and then
also I think one of the things that I like is that you not
only deal with people as they get a little older, but I think
the the breast milk and that's to help reduce infant
mortality. Absolutely! So what we do is we educate our women on
breastfeeding and also on safe sleep skills.
And what we know is that seven counties in South
Carolina have a high infant mortality rate.
Do we? They do. Oh my goodness. And then we can actually
have them to donate their breast milk. And then that
breast milk has helped save some of the sickest and tiniest
babies in South Carolina. Because it's pasteurized and
you're able to send it to the Neo NIC units? Absolutely so
we send it to Charleston and M-U-S-C and they pasteurize it.
They freeze it and it's all safe for the
babies. And I've heard that premature infants can have all
kinds of gastrointestinal problems and the breast milk is
remarkably important in keeping them safe. That is true.
(laughter)
Well ladies I think it's wonderful to know that
Clemson is partnering within M-U-S-C
and that we have such confident and encouraging
people who are trying to take the message of healthier living
to South Carolinians. Thank you for being with us today and I
now I think we'll enjoy getting to taste this wonderful parfait.