About Us



General Information \| Board of Directors \| Executive Director

About The Northern California Center for Well-Being

Mission

To promote the well-being of the whole person
by empowering people with the knowledge, skills and spirit
to take responsibility for personal, family and community health.

	We are a non-profit organization providing health education, wellness and prevention services to Sonoma County and beyond.
	The Center offers educational programs designed to help people with chronic illness manage symptoms, enhance well-being, and prevent further disability.
	Education and movement programs are provided for people with diabetes, coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure, high cholesterol, asthma, arthritis, and other diagnoses.
	General wellness programs that stress the mind-body connection are also offered to the community, including stress management, exercise, meditation, and weight management.
	A full schedule of movement and exercise programs are offered at our two locations, 365B Tesconi Circle and 3536 Mendocino Avenue, both in Santa rosa.
	Programs include up-to-date information on disease and disease processes, tools for self-care, and skills for lifestyle modification. Participants are motivated to set goals and make real life changes.
	The core staff includes registered nurses, registered dietitians, health educators and exercise physiologists. Other contract personnel include respiratory therapists, mental health practitioners, gerontologists, and physicians.

General Information

"Chronic disease resulted in more than 75% of Sonoma County deaths…. and the costs and burdens of chronic disease are significant, not only in morbidity, mortality and economic costs, but also in the negative impact on quality of life."
Sonoma County Health Profile 2000

Living well with chronic illness is a difficult, lifelong challenge, requiring people to make significant life changes, and to mobilize resources for support--within and outside the medical system. For many people making lifestyle changes to prevent chronic illness (changes in diet, exercise, stress management, social support) is complex, requiring rethinking and adjusting longstanding patterns of behavior. There are many sources of information to tell people what they "should" do to remain healthy, but few resources to show them how to do it, and even fewer resources to guide them through the process of making changes and addressing barriers to a healthful lifestyle. Yet study after study has documented significant improvement in morbidity and quality of life for people who increase health-promoting behaviors.

The Northern California Center for Well-Being is an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit health education and wellness center serving the entire county of Sonoma and adjacent areas since 1997. Center staff works with people with chronic disease (diabetes, pulmonary disease, heart disease, arthritis) and/or with risk factors for chronic disease (obesity, high cholesterol, sedentary lifestyle), and their families, in small, multi-session groups targeted to address a specific diagnosis or risk factor. These groups inform, motivate and support people toward better self-care. Our empowerment education model draws from stages of change, self-efficacy, and adult learning theories. Special program initiatives outreach to the Latino community for diabetes self care education and family and pediatric nutrition.

Center programs are based on a biopsychosocial model of illness, and use an empowerment education model. Programs include up-to-date information on disease and disease process tools for self-care, skills for lifestyle modification, and understanding of and support for the connections between mind and body. Participants are motivated to set goals and make real life changes in lifestyle practices. Family members of people with chronic illness are also encouraged to attend the programs as support people or on their own. Center staff follows up with program participants through written communication and telephone contact, and track program outcomes. Outcome studies use established quality of life instruments for specific diagnoses, medical symptom checklists, and behavioral change follow-up phone interviews.

The Center has helped over 20,000 people and their families take positive steps toward greater health, and empowering many of our program participants to reach out to others through their involvement in the Center. Programs have helped participants to improve health and to experience improved quality of life. Some of the outcomes for our programs are as follows:

Diabetes - Participants in the Center for Well-Being's Diabetes Wellness Series average a 1.0 decrease in their HbA1c values six months after completing the class.

Asthma - Participants in the Center's Asthma Self-Care class have statistically significant improvements in quality of life on all measures 3 months after completing class.

Stress Management - People who complete the Center's stress management class report 30% fewer medical symptoms.

Smoking Cessation - Almost 40% of people completing the Smoking Cessation class have successfully quit 6-9 months after completing the program.

Leadership for the Center is provided by its Board of Directors of physicians, other health and businesss professionals, community leaders and advocates.

Board of Directors 2007
Sandra De Bella Bodley, Ed.D, NP, President
Nick Anton, MD, Vice President
Shirley Gordon, Secretary
Pat Kilkenny, Treasurer

John Baxter

John Beilharz, Ph.D.
Alanna Brogan, RN, MA
Enrique Gonzalez-Mendez, MD

Toni Griffin

Rebecca LaLonde

John Nacol

Susan Quinn, NP

Steven Stapp

James Trapnell, MD

Reed Walker, MD

Executive Director
Alena Wall, MA, CHES has been Executive Director of the Center for Well-Being since April, 2007. She has a Masters' degree in Holistic Health Education and over 10 years experience designing and administering health education programs.

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