[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17252]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   10TH ANNIVERSARY OF BONE BUILDERS

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, next month, RSVP programs in Vermont's 
Rutland and Addison Counties will be celebrating the 10th anniversary 
of Bone Builders, a free exercise program that helps Vermonters combat 
and prevent osteoporosis. I congratulate all the participants and 
volunteers who have contributed to the success of Bone Builders and for 
reaching this milestone.
  As we mark the 6-month milepost of the Affordable Health Care Act and 
the implementation of more and more of its benefits for Americans and 
their families, we all are increasingly attuned to the advantages of 
ending the corrosive health cost spiral, and the roles to be played by 
individual and organized preventive efforts like Bone Builders.
  Bone Builders uses RSVP volunteers to lead weight training and 
balance exercise classes aimed at preventing fractures caused by 
osteoporosis. Classes help participants increase their muscular 
strength, balance, and overall bone density. Countless studies have 
shown that women who participate in exercise programs like Bone 
Builders can gain bone density while nonparticipants will continue to 
lose bone density.
  One particular story shared with me captures how important this 
program is to help keep Vermonters healthy. A few years ago during a 
particularly rough winter, a Bone Builders participant was walking to 
her bird feeder and fell, injuring herself. Yards away from her house 
and her phone, she found the strength to drag herself back to her 
house. Later she told an RSVP volunteer that she would not have been 
able to get inside to call for help if she had not participated in Bone 
Builders.
  Medical experts estimate that there are 1.5 million fractures per 
year in the United States due to osteoporosis, costing nearly $20 
million in health care services and treatments. Doctors in Vermont, 
understanding how important strength training programs are for seniors 
in order to prevent osteoporosis, have started to refer patients to 
local classes and hand out Bone Builders brochures. Since the program 
has been so successful and popular in Vermont, there are now more than 
100 classes offered across our State.
  The program has helped countless Vermonters not only improve their 
health but make connections in their communities. Some participants 
have recently lost spouses or have had health difficulties that may 
isolate them within their neighborhood and communities. The camaraderie 
and friendship that participants in Bone Builders find through classes 
often leads them to socialize outside of the program. In fact, the 
program has been so successful in Vermont that the Bone Builders model 
has been replicated in several other States, including California, 
Maine, Florida and Minnesota.
  I am proud of the Vermonters who have taken the initiative and 
challenged themselves in these classes, and for the work of the 
volunteers who spend their time inspiring others to improve their 
health. I look forward to celebrating the work of RSVP Bone Builders 
and many other such anniversaries in the years ahead.

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