WalkNEIowa.org highlights area healthcare providers prescribing walking to their patients
The folks at WalkNEIowa.org are back with a new spring campaign to get folks moving. The Walking Rx campaign shares the stories of northeast Iowan healthcare providers that are promoting walking to their patients as a way to support their happiness and health. Veterans Memorial Hospital is now sharing these stories highlighting their providers on social media. They can be accessed anytime on the WalkNEIowa.org website.
It is hoped that hearing these stories will inspire people to do some walking of their own, because this is not just a campaign; it is a long-term commitment to work together to incorporate walking, wellness and health into all local communities.
WalkNEIA.org is also stocked with lots of other tools and inspiration to help get northeast Iowa communities on the move. The site’s Messaging Toolkit is helpful for community health partners. Downloadable materials on WalkNEIowa.org include printable instructions for how to start a walking group or a walking school bus, as well as useful community maps featuring many of the cities in northeast Iowa. In fact, Veterans Memorial Hospital submitted walking trails in each of the communities in the hospital’s service area, and not just in the larger communities, so there’s a walk nearby for everyone.
The WalkNEIA.org website is interactive and informative. It features the true walking stories of northeast Iowans and is now featuring the healthcare provider perspectives.
Walking has a tremendous power to alter the health and vitality of not just individuals, but entire communities. WalkNEIowa.org’s story section continues to shine a spotlight on those individuals and encourage users to share their own walking stories and photos by implementing the hashtag #WhyIWalkNEIA. That content then surfaces, live, on WalkNEIowa.org’s homepage.
It is well known that walking helps keep people healthy. But the organizers of WalkNEIowa.org say there’s more to the story. According to their main message, a walking habit can also be about real human connection. The local project was inspired by the national “Walk More. Connect More” campaign of AmericaWalks.org.
After extensive message testing, America Walks discovered that people are much more inspired to get going when they learn about walking as an opportunity to build relationships and human connection with others. The initiative hopes to help inspire users to forge connections with others, as well as to connect the dots between walking and their own mental and physical health. With so many area physicians jumping on board, WalkNEIA.org is sure to have a ripple effect across the region.
For more information on the walking trails in the Veterans Memorial Hospital service area, call the hospital at 563-568-3411.
