Wear Red, Walk on Friday

As part of National Wear Red Day, Bradford Regional Medical Center’s (BRMC) employees and local residents are being encouraged to participate in one of three “Healthy Heart Walks” set for Friday, Feb. 6, inside the hospital.

Starting in front of HeartStrings Gift Shop in BRMC’s new Outpatient Services Center, employees and those from the community can join the indoor walks that will begin at 7 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., say BRMC officials.

Participants will be led by BRMC physicians on a quarter-mile loop which takes 10 minutes to complete. Those participating will be given a T-shirt donated by the Bradford HealthWorks Project, a health initiative of BRMC, the Center for Rural Health Practice at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Zippo Manufacturing Co., and Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield.

“The walk is part of National Wear Red Day when people wear red to show their support for women’s heart disease awareness,” says Beth Price, RN, chairman of BRMC’s Employee Wellness Committee that’s sponsoring the health walk. She also is the Human Resource Center’s education coordinator and the Eployee/Occupational Health Department’s manager.

“We’re welcoming employees and the public to participate -- and to wear red. This walk is to promote women’s heart health,” she notes. “It’s a coordinated effort to create excitement and awareness and to get people healthy,” says Mariann Kahle, a Wellness Committee member who’s also director of BRMC’s Food & Nutrition Services. “”We also hope BRMC employees will remember this path and can walk it on a regular basis to promote fitness,” Mrs. Kahle adds.

The Employee Wellness Committee on Jan. 19 also kicked off a 12-week-long “Biggest Loser” weight-loss contest for BRMC employees as a way to encourage healthy lifestyles and good nutritional habits.

The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease, created and introduced the Red Dress in 2002 as the national symbol for women and heart disease symptoms. National Wear Red Day provides an opportunity for everyone to unite in this life-saving awareness movement by showing off a favorite red dress, shirt or tie, or by wearing a Red Dress pin.