September 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 22

Member to Member
Walk with a Doc

Parks help connect doctors and patients through walking programs
By Mark Young

athering at Highbanks Metro Park in Columbus, Ohio, on an early
Saturday morning, dozens of people of all ages prepare to take a brisk
30- to 45-minute walk on the Big Meadows Trail. It's the Walk with a
Doc program, and it's happening in more than 100 locations across the country
as well as in Canada, Australia and Russia.
Dr. Jesse Adams (left)
leads a walk in Louisville.

Walk with a Doc was founded by
Columbus cardiologist David Sabgir,
M.D., in 2005 to counteract the epidemic of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity. The concept is simple. You need a committed corps of
volunteer physicians and a park and
recreation agency that is willing to
host a walking event in its local park
system. Either a hospital or regional healthcare system sponsors Walk
with a Doc, which provides a source
of general physicians, cardiologists
and pediatricians to lead the walks.
A sponsor can also provide funding
for marketing, apparel and healthy
snacks at walking events.
A typical Walk with a Doc program
begins with the doctor discussing a
relevant health topic and answering
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Parks & Recreation

questions asked by the participants.
At many locations, health assessments such as blood pressure tests
are performed by a nurse or medical-school resident. Then the walkers
hit the trail with the doctor at their
side, continuing the health dialogue.
Dr. Sabgir organized the Walk
with a Doc program when office
talks failed to motivate patients to exercise. " More than 90 percent of the
diseases my patients and I tackle together in the office or the hospital are
related to a sedentary lifestyle, yet it
has been reported that only 3 percent
of people are achieving the appropriate amount of exercise each week, "
Sabgir laments. " Frustrated by the
inability to increase my patient's activity level, I told them I would be at
the park on Saturday and would love
for them to join me. " And they have
been walking ever since.
In May, Kentucky One Health, a
recently formed healthcare system,
partnered with Louisville Metro
Parks to launch Walk with a Doc
at Iroquois Park. Dr. Jesse Adams,
Kentucky Chapter of American College of Cardiology, brought the idea
forward, and Kentucky One Health's
Alice Bridges put it in motion.
" We are moving from a focus on 'sick
care' to true preventive healthcare, "
Bridges asserts. When asked why it was

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important to locate Walk with a Doc
in a park, Bridges replies, " Connecting with the natural world is critical to
achieving wholeness and health. "
On July 13, Waterford Recreation
and Parks in Connecticut, partnering
with Lawrence-Memorial Hospital,
held its inaugural Walk with a Doc
program at the Waterford Community Center. Recreation and Parks Director Brian Flaherty is excited about
the prospect of engaging the community in healthy activities.
" Walk with a Doc will help make
the connection between health and
parks and recreation in our community, " he says.
The impact on the health, fitness
and wellness of those who participate
is powerful. More than 90 percent of
participants say they feel more educated, 75 percent exercise more, 70 percent feel more empowered and nearly
99 percent enjoy the concept of pairing
physicians with communities outside
traditional settings. The " healthy people, healthy parks " connection grows
stronger every day. Learn how to start
Walk with a Doc in your park system
at www.walkwithadoc.org.
Note: Dr. David Sabgir will
present " Innovative Active
Healthcare Solutions in
Our Parks " at the 2013
NRPA Congress in Houston on Tuesday, October 8, from 4:30-5:45 p.m.
Mark A. Young is with Parks Forever
Consulting (www.parksforeverconsulting.
com) in Worthington, Ohio (markayoung90@
gmail.com).

September 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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