New Season, New Faces

Left to Right in the photo:

BETH – Started October 1 as the Activity Host. See her for all ticketing needs. Currently lives in Gold Canyon, has lived in Arizona since 1998.

DEBBIE – Started working as the Assistant Office Manager in July. She lives in the park full time. Came from Ohio. Just moved into a new home.

JENNY – She is a workamper and has been in the park 4 years. She’s workamped all over the US: Vermont to Yosemite, California and Washington to Florida.

The latest in our series…

The People of the Park

Getting Checked

Free Blood Pressure Monitoring at The Resort

By Dale Dauten

How did that feel? I wonder what it did to your blood pressure. I just read that thinking positive thoughts can lower your reading by 5-15 points, so I hope that’s happening for you.

What got me thinking about blood pressure was getting to visit with Pam Deml, the head of the volunteer group that offers free blood pressure checks at The Resort. (Perhaps someone reading this can tell us if their readings at the park are different than there’s back home.)

As I suspect you’ve heard many times, high blood pressure often has no symptoms and can cause heart, kidney, vision and brain issues. So, yes, you should get it checked. You can get it checked at a doctor’s office, but there’s the “white coat hypertension” from being at a medical facility. Or, you can get a home monitoring device; but, these can have accuracy issues, including problems with cuff size and placement. So it’s helpful that The Resort has a free and easy option:

BLOOD PRESSURE MONITORING:

Wednesdays from 8-10AM

in the theater room

Given that Pam has led the Resort’s team for 16 years, we asked if she had advice for people getting their blood pressure monitored, specifically if there were mistakes that she sees. “You should probably not drink coffee before you have your blood pressure taken,” she replied. “And take your meds. And there are people who come in right after exercising and we’ll have them sit for a few minutes.” As for other issues that might interfere with readings, Pam told us, “We have different size cuffs, and we do them manually and plus we have automatic cuff.” As for the “white coat” effect, Pam says, “It’s nice for people doing it in familiar surroundings as opposed to a doctor’s office. But another thing: some people just want to check their reading against their machine they have at home.”

Pam wanted to be clear that the monitoring work takes a team. She said of the group pictured below, and the others not in the photo, “They are awesome people – it wouldn’t work without them.”

PAM DEML: A Brief Bio

We always like to learn a bit about the folks at the park who help make it a special place. We started by asking Pam how she got started with the blood pressure monitoring. “I was an EMT for 10 years. When we came to the park I met the one gal that was doing it at that time. She was moving out of the park so she just asked if I would take over for her — and I did.”

Backing up, Pam grew up in New Prague (pronounced “Preg”), Minnesota on what she described as a “hobby farm” where they raised pigs and bred redbone hounds. She married the year after graduating from high school, and joined her new husband on a farm where they raised hogs and grew corn and soybeans, and also raised their three children.

November Events Calendar