SAN DIEGO–In an effort to help residents stay healthy, combat loneliness and improve their lives, the City of San Diego and Sharp HealthCare recently launched a community education video series available for free online. Sharp HealthCare is the City’s official health and wellness partner.  

The new virtual series will replace in-person sessions previously offered at City libraries. The last in-person session was held on Feb. 25 at the Mission Valley Library, prior to the closure of library facilities in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

“For more than 2 ½ years, Sharp HealthCare has been providing free valuable health and wellness information for our community at City library branches, parks and recreation centers,” said Sarah Brenha, manager of the City of San Diego’s Corporate Partnerships and Development Program. “The transition to online workshops will help our residents feel more connected during this uncertain time.” 

Topics for the online workshops include advance care planning, diabetes prevention, back pain management and dealing with isolation. The sessions are free and will be available on YouTube with the option to view captions in English or Spanish.  

While the virtual series officially launched in July, upcoming workshops are scheduled and will be posted online each month through December 2020. 

“As the official health and wellness partner of the City of San Diego, our task has been to provide important information to the communities of San Diego each month, so residents have tools available to improve their health and well-being,” said John Cihomsky, Vice President of Public Relations for Sharp HealthCare. “While the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented our health care professionals from delivering that information in person, we are thrilled that moving the workshops online means we are able to reach an even larger audience and hopefully improve many more lives.” 

To view the first online workshop, focused on advanced care planning, visit sharp.com/advancecarevideo. The entire series can be viewed at Sharp HealthCare’s webpage, where links will be posted when the videos are made available each month.