One day to go and we’re 8th on the ladder!

Leading SWH’s charge: Health Promotion Officer Mardi Nestor (left) and HARP Care Coordinator Meredith Glennen. Impressively, Meredith regularly walks to work from Warrnambool’s Homemaker Centre, an hour away.

General

Thursday, October 28, 2010

With just hours to go in Australia’s 2010 Walktober Workplace Challenge, South West Healthcare is coming 8th. Not bad for a workplace up against the likes of massive workforces including V-Line, Telstra and Work Safe Victoria.

The week-long competition is all about promoting walking as a great way to exercise during the course of your normal day’s work. By walking to and from work, during breaks and lunch, and to and from meetings you score points. There’s even bonus points for leaving your car at home, and for encouraging work mates to walk, too. The challenge, in a nutshell, involves adding as many walks as you can into your daily working schedule.

‘They don’t need to be long - even 15 minutes counts - so you can include a walk in your journey to and from work, a walk at lunchtime, a walk to a meeting or even schedule a meeting while you walk,’ suggests SWH Health Promotion Officer Mardi Nestor.

‘Often people think that walking to commute is too hard, but it can be really easy and takes a lot less time than you think. Every single one of these walks earns you points. Bigger walks earn you even more points, and it all quickly makes a difference to your waistline and your wellbeing.’

South West Healthcare has seven teams entered in the Australia-wide competition. Three are from Macarthur Community Health, Manifold Place (Camperdown) and our Occupational Therapy Unit. The others (some of their members are pictured here, en route to work this morning) belong to the Nancy Ganz Easy Walkers, the White House All Weather Walkers, the Physio 4 Wheelers and the Pathology Pathogens.

PS… Speaking of GREAT walking initiatives, head to the Warrnambool Tourist Information Centre to get a free copy of Walk It! Warrnambool. Instigated by SWH Chief Occupational Therapist Josephine Gibbs, it’s a terrific map of seven city walks.