Ask the Expert: Shelly Gladstein, BHOF Support Group Leader
Please tell us about your background and how you started OsteoBoston.
Faced with the diagnosis of osteoporosis, and after experiencing a full career as a sales leader of a national business, I felt motivated to do something that might provide more answers. The BHOF website shared helpful information about many things, and I decided to inquire about becoming a Support Group Leader. I’ve had no medical background; simply an interest in learning more about how to best steward the condition I found myself in. I live in greater Boston, which is also home to some of the best leaders and experts in the field. I felt this proximity was an asset to us, and so named the group, ‘OsteoBoston’.
We’ve attracted members from many other states, as well as Canada. We began the group with an online presence only, on Zoom in February of 2021, and I asked Dr. Marc Wein of Massachusetts General Hospital Boston (my own endocrinologist) to be our advisor. We feature a monthly speaker. People have enjoyed our format and share the group with others they know. I also promote the speakers on my personal social media feed and provide an email for people to contact me if they’re interested in participating. Referrals from our members has bred new members joining us. In the future, I’d like to reach out further to the greater community where I live. I’d like to share these resources with as many as are inclined.
Is there a unique point of differentiation that you can share about your Support Group? What is it that keeps members engaged? What are members most interested in learning?
I think our format is good and easily duplicable. We meet monthly at 7 p.m., the first Tuesday of each month. The first hour is dedicated to hearing from a selected speaker. After the speaker leaves the Zoom at 8 p.m., we continue until 9 p.m., sharing our own stories about our progress, our situations. I often find that I learn equally as much in the second hour of conversations as I have in the first, because members share such insightful comments. Surprisingly, we’ve created a special bond, even though we’ve only met on this online platform and look forward to seeing each other monthly. We’ve had exceptional speakers: endocrinologist researchers, specialists, nutritionists, physical therapists, qi gong instructors, and others in the field. These experts add richly to the program. Exciting programs are planned for this spring. All the talks are posted afterwards on the OsteoBoston YouTube channel. (We post only the speakers, not the support group content.)
How did you pivot from in-person to virtual meetings?
Well, I never did pivot. I began during the Covid pandemic in Feb. 2021. I have a personal Zoom room and we use that. If you’re interested in participating in an OsteoBoston session, either as a speaker or as an individual interested in their bone health, please feel free to reach out to me at osteoboston@gmail.com. Because the program is virtual, we welcome you, and it makes no difference where you live. I’m happy to welcome anyone interested. Feel free to reach out and give our group a try.
Please let us know of any other points of interest you would like readers to know.
Understanding more about bone health provides a better basis for learning how to approach this condition. Listening to the monthly speakers has been invaluable. Plus, once each of us can develop a plan for our health, based on acquiring more knowledge, we experience a sense of control that is very liberating and comforting. That’s what we hope to provide in this Support Group. Our members are curious, dynamic people who are inquisitive, active participants. During the Q + A segment they move the subjects forward in interesting directions. They have ideas for and are working to add more dimensions to the group, like a cookbook and google groups, to enhance connection with each other. I enjoy being part of OsteoBoston. Feel free to reach out to find out more at osteoboston@gmail.com.