Chronic Disease, Pain Treatment Clinic Free In Eastern Panhandle

WVU Medicine’s Berkeley and Jefferson Medical Centers are hosting remote workshops to help teach Eastern Panhandle locals how to treat chronic diseases and pain.

The program is called Living Well and it teaches how to take care of chronic conditions like pain, heart disease, diabetes, anxiety and depression on a day-to-day basis.

Promotion coordinator Dana DeJarnett said the program allows for each person to find out what works for them, with the social aspect playing a big part in treatment.

“You’re going to meet other people who are kind of going through the same things as you are and you can learn from others about how they cope with it,” DeJarnett said.

The program covers broader techniques to help participants take control of their health. These include communication with health care providers, basic nutrition and physical activity exercises. It  also helps participants come up with their own ways to help cope with chronic pain.

“It could be things like relaxation exercises,” DeJarnett said. “Distraction can be things like thinking of different types of birds or how you use your mind for distraction, but then there’s also ways to be active to take your mind off of what you’re going through. So you might organize your paperwork, or listen to music or read a book.”

The chronic disease workshops are scheduled every Tuesday from Feb. 28 through April 4 over Zoom. The chronic pain workshops are in-person at the Charles Town Library every Wednesday from March 1 to April 5.

To register, call 304-264-1287, ext. 31814 or email dana.dejarnett@wvumedicine.org for more information.

The deadline to register is Feb. 24.