Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) partners with San Joaquin General Hospital (SJGH) – will hold national walking day event (April 1st)
(French Camp) – Heart disease is this country’s No. 1 killer, but by exercising for as little as 30 minutes each day, the risk can be reduced. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends walking, which offers multiple benefits, including the following –
Top Eight Reasons to Walk:
- Prevents type 2 diabetes
- Strengthens your heart
- Good for the brain
- Good for your bones
- Helps alleviate symptoms of depression
- Reduces the risk of breast & colon cancer
- Short bouts improve fitness, too!
- Improves physical function
WHAT: To support the AHA National Day of Walking, Health Plan of San Joaquin (HPSJ) and San Joaquin General Hospital (SJGH) are mounting a Walking Day event on their adjoining campuses. They plan to use the April 1st Walk as the start of ongoing activities to encourage HPSJ and SJGH employees to be more physically active. After a brief program and warm-up, an estimated 150-200 participants (employees, plus invited guests from neighboring Mary Graham Children’s Shelter and the VA Stockton Clinic), will be invited to walk a short trail (1 mile). Two longer trails have also been established.
12:00pm Pam Benziger, Executive Director, American Heart Association
12:05 Dr. Mohsen Saadat, DO, Internal Medicine Program Director, SJGH
12:15 Dr. Lakshmi Dhanvanthari, MD, Chief Medical Officer, HPSJ
Ribbon Cutting – to start the first joint Walking Event
12:15 Jenny Dominguez, Health Promotion/Cultural & Linguistics Manager, HPSJ
12:20 Stretches, contributed by “Carl the Trainer” from Pure Form PFT (Stockton)
12:30 Walk begins
WHEN: Wednesday, April 1, 2015 (Program repeats at 1pm, for those with later lunch breaks)
WHERE: Program Rally and Walk start – West Lawn of Health Plan of San Joaquin
(7751 So. Manthey Road, French Camp, 209-942-6300); Walk continues through hospital grounds.
JOURNALISTS: News media are invited to cover this event