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By Gene Axton
Nurse Dolores Sabia—known colloquially as Nurse Dee at the Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA—has a nursing nursing philosophy that’s anything but passive. She sees preventative health care as the future and she uses ProCare, the physical therapy office inside the YMCA, to help diagnose and treat certain issues in a way that’s timely and affordable.
“I just had a young man come in maybe two weeks ago. He was lifting weights and when he moved his wrist he had a pop without pain—you could see it—and it was clicking,” Sabia said. “He said, ‘I’m just afraid it’s going to get worse because I’ve never had this before.’ We went right up to ProCare (and) Michael (Catalano) diagnosed him. It’s convenient (and) it’s very quick. It’s really wonderful for the patient because it’s so expensive to go to a doctor.”
Michael Catalano is a doctor of physical therapy and the facility director of ProCare’s Wilkes-Barre Family YMCA location. He explained that Sabia brings patients to the office if they’re complaining of joint or non-cardiac pain and they do a consolation. If it warrants physical therapy, ProCare helps the patient develop a schedule. If it’s something that can be managed with guidance, Catalano and his staff provide advice. Catalano isn’t just receiving patients from Sabia though—he’s sending her patients he feels would benefit from her programs at the YMCA in a relationship he calls a “holistic approach to patient care.”
Sabia runs a cardiopulmonary program at the YMCA that’s free to members and a nominal fee for non-members. Scholarships are available. Potential attendees can call the YMCA to sign up. When they do, an initial health assessment is scheduled with Sabia to collect baseline data and develop an exercise regiment—if the patient is unable to physically exert themselves, ProCare is brought in to prepare them for the program.
“Once we do that we get them a specified exercise program designed specifically for the patient on what they can and can’t do,” Sabia said. “Our goal is to aim for 30 minutes or more of cardio three times a week, followed by 30 minutes or more of strength training.”
Sabia also runs Matters of the Heart, a 15-minute screening that’s free to YMCA members and available to non-members at a nominal fee.
“I do blood pressure, oxygen determination and heart rate, but I also run a cardiac rhythm strip so I can pick up if something is amiss,” Sabia said. “I have sent people to the ER. It also includes an Accu-Chek, which is a screening for blood sugar. We run that once a month.”
Sabia said her mission is to bring affordable care to the community for people who need it but can’t afford it or when insurance stops paying for therapy. Frequent visits to doctors’ offices for pain can turn into a financial liability, Sabia said. She wants potential patients to visit the YMCA so they can be exposed to the various programs the center offers—aerobics, water fitness, nutrition, strength training and more—to help them maintain their health.
Reach Gene at [email protected] or (570) 991-6121, ext. 1302