Civilian Health Promotion Services helps civilians improve health, well-being Published April 6, 2011 By Diane Betzler Staff Writer EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- There's a new kind of CHPS in town. Like the California Highway Patrol, the mission of the new CHPS is also to serve and protect, but in a different way and to a much smaller population. Civilian Health Promotion Services is a partnership between the Air Force Materiel Command and Federal Occupational Health and is a free program that is available to all Edwards Department of Defense civilian employees. "Our mission is to help Edwards civilians improve and maintain their health and well-being," said Amber Schwall, CHPS Health Promotion coordinator. CHPS does that through health screenings and by offering a variety of educational classes that inform people on how to recognize and deal with a myriad of health issues. Each month CHPS puts out a calendar that lists the time and place of specific classes and clinics scheduled for that month. There are more than 30 informative classes offered throughout the year that range from learning how to use exercise to fight off the aging process to managing allergies, arthritis and asthma. People dealing with back pain can attend a class on back care. There are classes dealing with high blood pressure as well as high cholesterol, either affliction can put a person at risk for heart disease or stroke. Both are examples of the rare times when you don't want high scores. Those who do score high in these categories should consider enrolling in a cholesterol education or a high blood pressure class where they can learn ways of reducing those numbers. Each month has a health observance theme and Ms. Schwall schedules classes that go along with the theme for that particular month. She also schedules classes by demand. "I ask for feedback from people, and when the public shows a high interest in particular subjects I will add the appropriate class on the schedule," Ms. Schwall said. She urges people to visit the AFMC Wellness website where they can go on a virtual tour and learn, in detail, what the program has to offer. "It's the link of what's going on with the program," she said. The website also gives people an opportunity to offer suggestions about issues they would like to see covered in the program. It also offers a health risk appraisal, which, Ms. Schwall says is the first step toward future good health. "It's a process that shows where you are now and helps you set realistic goals for where you want to be in the future," she said. She said the feedback people get from a health risk appraisal is tailored to their personal profile and identifies health risks that often go undetected. "Then it links you with the support and information specific to your needs, and assists you with making healthy life changes." Since most of Ms. Schwall's equipment is portable, her goal is to eventually bring the health screenings and classes to the units to make it easier for people to participate in the program. "I can pack up my blood pressure cuff and my cholesterol screening machine and go," she said. Although only DOD civilian employees are eligible to take advantage of the health screenings that CHPS has to offer, Ms. Schwall said everyone including contractors and servicemembers are welcome to attend any of the classes that are offered each month. She said people could use their allotted fitness time to attend a class. "Unfortunately we only have enough funding to cover DOD civilian employees for the health screenings," she said. The CHPS program saves people money and time because they don't have to take off work and drive into town for the health screenings that should be done at least once a year. Those who join the program can stop by the Wellness Center at 10 S. Sellers Street as often as they want to check their blood pressure or calculate their body mass index. "The program is meant to baseline your current health status and talk about healthier lifestyle changes," Ms. Schwall said. People can track their program on the wellness website at: www.afmcwellness.com. "The goal of the program is to have a healthier civilian workforce and the program is free, so why not take advantage of it?"