by Rachel Hunter
The Community Health Center of the North Country presented Walk With A Doc in Gouverneur on Saturday, September 4 at the Gouverneur Fairgrounds Track. Over 15 persons from towns and villages around the North Country were in attendance. The event was coordinated in conjunction with support from the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department and the Bridge to Wellness, the St. Lawrence County Community Health Improvement Plan.
Walk With A Doc in St. Lawrence County is a local chapter of Walk With A Doc, an international 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Walk with a Doc was started in 2005 by Dr. David Sabgir, a cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio. Frustrated with his inability to affect behavior change in the clinical setting, Dr. Sabgir invited his patients to go for a walk with him in a local park on a spring Saturday morning. To his surprise, over 100 people showed up, energized and ready to move.
Since that first event in 2005, Walk with a Doc has grown as a grassroots effort with a model based on sustainability and simplicity. A doctor gives a brief presentation on a health topic and then leads participants on a walk at their own pace. The Walk added an Executive Director in 2009 and focused on building a program that could easily be implemented by interested doctors in other cities around the country. As a result of these efforts, the reach of Walk with a Doc now extends all around the globe with over 500 chapters worldwide, including Walk with a Future Doc chapters led by medical students.
At the Sept. 4 Walk With A Doc in Gouverneur, Community Health Center of the North Country – Gouverneur Health Center providers, Meghan C. McGowan, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, and Brittany Terpstra, Physician Assistant led the walk. In keeping with the St. Lawrence Public Health Department and Community Health Center of the North Country’s dedication to helping mitigate the spread of COVID-19 throughout the North Country, the providers encouraged the walkers to remember the Five Pillars of Community Prevention: wear a mask, physical distance, wash hands often, stay home when sick, and stay local.
The latest guidance for the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department says the following: “Due to the increased number of cases and the confirmed presence of the Delta variant in New York State, Public Health strongly urges and recommends that ALL PERSONS wear a mask indoors in public spaces, in accordance with recent CDC guidance,” St. Lawrence County Interim Director of Public Health, Jolene Munger said in a recent press release. St. Lawrence County has remained in a high transmission area over more than a month now, with the number of cases rising in towns and villages across St. Lawrence County.
County residents who have yet to be vaccinated can find information on upcoming vaccination clinics and register for an appointment to receive a Pfizer vaccine at the St. Lawrence County Public Health website at https://stlawco.org/Departments/PublicHealth or by calling 315-229-3452.
Several attendees at Walk With A Doc in Gouverneur focused their attention on proper handwashing techniques.
Did you know? Respiratory viruses like COVID-19 spread when mucus or droplets containing the virus get into your body through your eyes, nose or throat. Often, the virus can easily spread from one person to the next via hands. During the COVID-10 global pandemic, one of the cheapest, easiest, and most important ways to prevent the spread of a virus is to wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
Here’s everything you need to know about how to wash your hands the right way:
To eliminate all traces of the virus on your hands, a quick scrub and a rinse won’t cut it. Below is a step-by-step process for effective handwashing. Step 1: Wet hands with running water. Step 2: Apply enough soap to cover wet hands. Step 3: Scrub all surfaces of the hands – including back of hands, between fingers and under nails – for at least 20 seconds. Step 4: Rinse thoroughly with running water. Step 5: Dry hands with a clean cloth or single-use towel. You should wash your hands for at least 20-30 seconds. An easy way to time it is by singing the full happy birthday song, twice.
The same goes for hand sanitizer. Use a sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol and rub it into your hands for at least 20 seconds to ensure full coverage.
Walk With A Doc in Gouverneur participants also reflect on the various benefits of walking.
Walking was recognized by the Surgeon General of the United States of America as one of the single most important things we can do for our health. People who regularly walk four times per week for at least 15 minutes live longer and healthier lives compared to those who are more sedentary, according to one study. Walking regularly helps maintain healthy body weight, reduce high blood pressure, decreases the risk for type 2 diabetes, and promotes a strong musculoskeletal system. Furthermore, walking actually helps decrease symptoms of chronic pain, which makes it a great activity for those with joint problems or low back pain. Taken together, it is understandable why people who regularly walk live much healthier lives.
But there are other fascinating aspects of walking that don’t get much attention.
There are mental benefits. Soon after starting to walk, you begin to notice that your thoughts are calmer; your worries are erased, and you start observing the world in a different light. That fresh of breath of air flows in from the tip of your nose and expands your lungs; when you exhale, you release your stress away. You look up at the big blue sky, and see the clouds slowly walking with you. The leaves of the trees are rustling in the wind, and birds are flying around you.
There is something different about walking that induces a mindfulness state compared to other types of physical activity, but what could it be? While it is not completely understood, a group of scientists are beginning to believe that the body’s natural painkillers, produced by the endocannabinoid system, may play an important role in giving you that relaxing feeling you get from walking or other forms of exercise. Walking is such a strong mood enhancer that according to this study, higher levels of walking significantly decrease symptoms of stress, such as anxiety, sadness, fatigue, and lack of motivation.
Perhaps being outside rather than inside a sweaty gym may also explain the enhanced mood. Maybe, it’s that walking allows you to reflect and contemplate, unlike other forms of more vigorous exercise. No need to stress about missing your yoga class or worry about feeling too sore — just go for a walk.
But wait, there’s more.
Walking can also be a social activity. Walking with a friend or your dog, or merely saying hello to other walkers, can increase your enjoyment. It can also be a learning activity, giving you a moment to listen to your favorite podcast or book and actually pay attention to it. Going for a walk does not cost any money, does not require a structured plan, and yet brings more benefits than you may have realized.
The entire North Country community is invited to join future Walk With A Doc events. They have been scheduled as follows: On October 3, 2021, 2 pm - 3 pm, Stevie's Trail at Potsdam Central School. On November 6, 2021, 10 am - 11 pm, Fort de La Presentation Abbe Picquet Trail. On December 4, 2021 - 10 am - 11 pm - Massena High School John Story Trail. For more information, visit https://walkwithadoc.org/join-a-walk/locations/stlawco/.