Walk Your Way to Good Health as You Wind Your Way Around Lauritzen Gardens

Walking and Health

The Health and Wellness Club at The Nebraska Medical Center has a new prescription for healthy living and all you need to get there is a comfortable pair of walking shoes.

Lauritzen Gardens has agreed to open early on Tuesday mornings beginning June 7 to allow members of The Nebraska Medical Center's Health and Wellness Club to walk through the gardens on their way to good health.

"Walking is an excellent form of exercise," said James T. Canedy, M.D., President/Founder of SimplyWell, an organization that helps companies cut their healthcare costs through an interactive wellness and prevention program. "A regular walking program can help reduce the risk of a heart attack, help manage blood pressure, diabetes, stress and weight control. Walking provides benefits as we grow older by maintaining muscle and bone mass."

Currently more than 100 club members have been known to walk through the Henry Doorly Zoo on any given Friday morning. Shirley Saum of Omaha is one of those walkers. Shirley and her husband, Bob, have been zoo walkers for more than five years. Shirley doesn't remember exactly why they started walking; she just knows they keep coming back so they can get some exercise, meet people and find out what's new at the zoo.

"It's good for our health, we have found one couple we like to walk with every week and we have seen the zoo grow and change," Shirley said.

Recently, Shirley and Bob's weekly zoo walks have taken on a new importance. Last fall, Bob had a stroke that made it difficult for him to walk. Now, with the use of Bob's new four-wheeled scooter, Bob and Shirley are back hiking the hills every Friday.

"Bob really looks forward to Fridays and heading to the zoo," Shirley said. "Our life has changed a lot in the past few months, but we still have our weekly walks."

Lauritzen Gardens is giving members of the Health and Wellness club another opportunity to go out, enjoy the fresh air and get some good exercise. You don't have to be a garden member to walk the two-mile path on Tuesdays, although the standard admission fee is required. A zoo membership is required for Friday walks with the animals.

Health and Wellness Club membership is free through The Nebraska Medical Center. To join the club call 559-3466 or log on to our website at www.NebraskaMed.com Member benefits include advance notice of health screenings, a quarterly news letter and health lectures given by physicians and other healthcare providers at The Nebraska Medical Center.

_____________

With a history dating back to 1869, The Nebraska Medical Center, known for excellence, innovation and quality patient care is listed as one of America's Top Hospitals by US NEWS and WORLD REPORT. As the teaching hospital for the University of Nebraska Medical Center, this 689 licensed bed facility has an international reputation for providing solid organ and bone marrow transplantation services and is well known nationally and regionally for its oncology, neurology and cardiology programs. The Nebraska Medical Center can be found online at http://www.nebraskamed.com - OMAHA, Neb.