A Polk County Health Department program is helping people with chronic and often debilitating health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes and heart disease manage the symptoms and lead healthier, happier lives.

Ask Cheryl Clinton, a retired nurse living with emphysema. She attended the six-week program, called Iowa Healthy Links, Better Choice/Better Health, at a community center near her Des Moines home several years ago.

"I learned how to manage my disease, and now I feel like a success," said Clinton, 64. Through the program, she learned breathing techniques, ways to manage day-to-day tasks that had become difficult and how to determine the kind of pulmonary rehabilitation she would need.

And just as important, Clinton said she found a group of people going through the same kinds of issues who understood her struggles.

"We bonded with each other. I am still friends with some of them," she said. "It gave me a support system and someone to talk to when I am having a bad day."

The sessions, which last about two -and-a-half hours, are held once a week for six weeks. They help participants manage medications, deal with depression, eat well, control pain, fight fatigue and frustration, start an exercise program, manage stress, solve problems and communicate better with health providers.

Since the program began in 2007, about 350 people have attended the workshops, said Tammy Keiter, planning specialist with the Polk County Health Department. Most of the funding comes from the Polk County Board of Supervisors with some money from Iowa Department of Public Health.

Participants pay $20, which includes the workshops and the book "Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions."

People completing the workshop improved their knowledge and self-management skills and increased their self confidence, health status and quality of life, Keiter said.

"Participants were evaluated at six months and one year (after completing the program), and that showed there was significant and consistent decrease in the average number of visits to physicians, and in ER visits," Keiter said.

The programs are taught by people from the community who have been trained, and many of them are graduates of the program and have chronic health conditions.

Keiter, other health department workers and program leaders recruit participants at senior centers, the YMCA and other venues that serve seniors. The county health department also is trying to work with doctors' offices to get more referrals.

Clinton said she was struggling with day-to-day activities after her emphysema became more debilitating.

"I was having a hard time accepting the fact that I had to retire early," she said. "It was not fun having my independence taken away."

After hooking up with the program, she regained control of her life, she said. She even got back to doing water aerobics for a time. And she trained and became a Better Choice/Better Health leader, which she enjoys.

In January, she fell and broke her leg and has since been using a wheelchair and oxygen daily. That has made life a little more of a challenge, but she's been able to cope with those changes because of the skills she has learned through the program.