By Peggy Mackenzie
A number of local health care professionals, educators and business leaders have formed a local community partnership/steering committee to deliver a one-day event as a springboard to help connect women in the community with each other and with their community health care providers in an experiential, safe, informative, fun and motivating way. The Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, WV Osteopathic School of Medicine, New River Community and Technical College and the Robert C. Byrd Clinic have chosen to be community champions and officially launch The Women on Wellness retreat event set for Sept. 7 at NRCTC’s Lee Street Complex (the old Lewisburg elementary school) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Other contributing resources include First National Bank, Greenbrier Medical Center, Fritz Pharmacy, Northern Greenbrier Health Clinic, local yoga instructors, zumba instructors, students and professors from WVSOM and NRCTC to name a few.
The importance of women’s health to the family, the community and the country is expressed perfectly by Kofi Annan, former UN Secretary General:
When women are fully involved, the benefits can be seen immediately: families are healthier, they are better fed, their income, savings and reinvestments go up. And what is true of families is true of communities, and eventually whole countries.
West Virginia ranks 47th in the nation in overall health statistics. West Virginia women rank 44th in the nation in poverty and 43rd in high school completion. Moreover, the life expectancy of women in this state is lower than the life expectancy rate of all women in the U. S.
The Women on Wellness event is an interactive, one-day holistic, behavioral shift retreat that was designed to help women and girls make lasting, positive lifestyle changes. WOW evaluations indicate upwards of 90 percent of participants reported a change in attitude and an immediate positive impact.
With a focus on prevention, the retreat serves to link each participant to resources in her community that can support her personal journey to wellness. Each participant will learn how to develop and prioritize a set of goals and strategies and build a personal lifestyle plan. WOW also offers connections to valuable resources in the community, a variety of health screenings to help women find out about their current health status, and provides a renewed commitment and motivation to continue the process she has started as well as understanding that her health care provider is her partner in her lifestyle journey.
There will be a wealth of information, demonstrations, yoga, exercises, nutritional information and chances to speak one on one with local resource providers. Come have fun, learn, and mingle with other local women as we enter a path of wellness for ourselves, and to share with others.
To register, call 304-293-0946 or go online at www.wowicandoit.com. There is a $50 registration fee which includes materials and food. Women in the military, veterans, wife or significant other of a veteran, active duty personnel (includes NG & Reserves) participate for free. (Please Note Error: some free passes show the location as WV State Fair grounds. Correct location is the Lee St. Complex.)