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Mission Statement

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.

General Information

The Northern California Center for Well-Being (NCCWB) is an independent 501(c) (3) non-profit health education and wellness center serving the entire county of Sonoma and adjacent areas since 1996. Center staff work with people with chronic disease (diabetes, 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, family and pediatric nutrition, asthma prevention, and smoking cessation.

Center programs are based on a biopsychosocial model of illness, and use evidence-based strategies to effect healthy behavior change. 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.