Get Moving to Stay in Good Health

Readers of the blog may recall that I got concerned about being overweight a few years ago when I had a high blood pressure reading. As it turned out, my blood pressure was normal. It had measured high because I had raced to give blood and I was stressed and had not taken enough time to calm down before the measurement and it was not repeated. 

The high measurement, however, had a positive effect on my health because it caused me to reflect on my weight. I was the heaviest that I had ever been in my life and my body mass index (BMI) showed that I was overweight. 

We know that being overweight, obese, or morbidly obese shortens your expected life because being overweight leads to health problems like diabetes, kidney disease, and heart disease to name just a few.

I realized that I was taking in too many calories for the amount of exercise I was getting. As for the calories, I committed to reducing my intake (but not very much because I love to eat) and I committed to getting regular exercise. My problem was that I got up early and went to work and I had many evening work commitments, so I was not getting enough exercise. The pandemic actually helped me because I had many fewer evening work commitments so I could go for a jog before dinner. If I had an evening commitment, I got up earlier to run before work (ugh). This discipline helped me lose 25 pounds and get back into a normal weight for my height. 

We should all be concerned about the obesity epidemic in our country. Our average lifespan is already going down because of the increased rate of suicide and substance abuse (coupled with the effects of COVID-19). If we don’t reduce obesity with its increased rates of chronic disease, our lifespan will go down further. 

I know that it is much easier for me to commit to exercise than it is for people with less resources, young children to care for, longer commutes, and many other valid reasons, but we must find simple ways to stay active.

So, this Saturday we are starting our Walk with a Doc program at City Springs Elementary/Middle School. This free program is for people of all ages and abilities. During each Walk with a Doc session, a GBMC doctor will provide a brief overview of a health topic and the remainder of the time they will spend time walking with patients and enjoying fun conversation. It will be a fun and safe way to go for a walk, learn about health, meet new friends, and burn more calories. Walking is something that most of us can do if we figure out how to build it into our daily schedule.

For our inaugural walk, I will be joined by James Baronas, MD, Medical Director for GBMC Health Partners Primary Care—Jonestown, along with his colleague, Priya S. Little, MD, a family medicine physician, and Wayman Scott MS, MTS, LGPC, Associate Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Community Relations at Gilchrist.

We are partnering with primary care in this program because each physician, within our 12 advanced primary care practices, is accountable with you for your specific health goals, and they want to help. Our teams manage chronic diseases, but they would prefer to practice preventive medicine to help you avoid chronic disease in the first place.

If you are interested in taking steps for a healthier lifestyle and learning about a current health topic from a GBMC healthcare provider, then come out this weekend and spend some valuable time enjoying a healthy walk and fun conversation.

Hope to see you on Saturday. Keep your eyes out for information on future GBMC Walk with A Doc opportunities. 

Passing of A GBMC Giant
Earlier this week, many of us were saddened to hear about the passing of Benjamin R. Civiletti, former U.S. Attorney General (AG) and former Chair of the GBMC HealthCare Board of Directors, and for whom our Civiletti Conference Center is named.  

Ben brought a keen intellect and concern for others to both his work as AG and as a leader of our healthcare system. He became involved with GBMC due to his legal expertise and commitment to the local community. Under Ben’s leadership, GBMC expanded to better serve the community. His vision of service continues to this day as we seek to provide the care we would want for our own loved ones. 

There is no doubt that we have lost someone who was very special and a great friend to GBMC.  We will always be thankful for what Ben did for GBMC and we are truly going to miss him.

Please join me in offering our condolences to Ben’s family and friends.

October is American Pharmacists Month
At GBMC, we have always had outstanding pharmacists and technicians who really care and work hard. Over the years, our pharmacy team, led by director Yuliya Klopouh, has done an outstanding job at making our medication delivery highly reliable. Our pharmacists work with our physicians, nurses, and advanced practitioners to help maximize the health outcomes of our patients. In this era of dramatically increased drug costs, they help assure that we are not wasting resources by using expensive drugs when less costly ones will get the same outcome. Please join me in thanking them for all that they do to drive us closer to our vision.