News
St. Luke’s University Health Network physicians and staff invite the public to join them for a series of walks and talks to improve health.
The first, roughly two-mile walk will be 5:30 pm, Wednesday, April 3 – National Walking Day – at the walking trail on the Anderson Campus in Easton. After a brief educational talk, participants can join world-renowned lifestyle medicine pioneer, Hans Diehl, DrHSc, MPH, founder of the Lifestyle Medicine Institute in Loma Linda, Calif.; Meagan Grega, MD, co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Kellyn Foundation; and St. Luke’s Bonnie Coyle, MD, Chairman of Community Health and Preventive Medicine.
Diehl and Dr. Grega will initiate the event with a brief talk about the importance of combining good nutrition and exercise to prevent disease and maintain a healthy body at every age. According to Dr. Grega, research has demonstrated that 80 percent of chronic diseases could be prevented if Americans followed four lifestyle behaviors: not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and exercising for at least 30 minutes daily.
“Unfortunately, only 3 percent of Americans adhere to all four of these lifestyle behaviors,” she said. “Walking not only improves your health, but it also improves your mood. … And when you walk with family and friends, it’s a great time to connect.”
After the first walk, St. Luke’s Walk With a Doc events will start at 5:30 p.m. on Thursdays through the end of September on the Anderson trail. The walks will be held rain or shine.
Participants can walk at their own pace, said Todd Nemura, St. Luke’s Community Health Liaison. Participants can also sit, stop and rest on the benches around the trail if they like, he added.
This year, not only physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants, but also members of St. Luke’s staff, including registered dietitians, will help lead the weekly walks and talk about preventing disease with healthy eating and exercise, Nemura said.
The walks are free, but participants are asked to register using the St. Luke’s Event Calendar on the home page of our website at www.sluhn.org.
Additionally, the walks are approved events for Get Your Tail on the Trail challenges. Participants who complete the challenges can earn free gear. Learn more about Get Your Tail on the Trail at www.tailonthetrail.org.
The Walk with a Doc program is one of St. Luke’s many efforts to promote “lifestyle medicine,” a movement that will result in lower costs, improved outcomes and enhanced well-being, Nemura said.
About St. Luke’s
Founded in 1872, St. Luke’s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network of more than 15,000 employees providing services at 10 hospitals and over 320 outpatient sites. With annual net revenue greater than $2 billion, the Network’s service area includes 10 counties: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe and Schuylkill counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke’s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, St. Luke’s created the Lehigh Valley’s first and only regional medical school campus. It also operates the nation’s longest continuously operating School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 28 fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 226 residents and fellows. St. Luke’s is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system with Medicare’s five- and four-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. St. Luke’s is both a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital. In 2019, three of IBM Watson Health’s 100 Top Hospitals were St. Luke’s hospitals. St. Luke’s University Hospital has earned the 100 Top Major Teaching Hospital designation from IBM Watson Health seven times total and five years in a row. St. Luke’s has also been cited by IBM Watson Health as a 50 Top Cardiovascular Program. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of the SLUHN’s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information. St. Luke’s is also recognized as one of the state’s lowest cost providers.
