Siloam Springs Regional Hospital has introduced a new program called "Healthy Community." The program is geared toward women, men and children and focuses on the importance of healthy living, wellness and prevention to foster whole-person wellness, including body, mind and spirit. The mission is to empower community residents with the knowledge, confidence and resources they need to make informed healthcare and well-being decisions for themselves and their loved ones.
"SSRH is committed to being a leader in advancement of health and well-being to the areas we serve. We've listened to our local supporters who said they want more community outreach efforts that promote population fitness and information about how to take better care of themselves and the people they love. That led to this new community outreach program," says Rebecca Pearrow, director of marketing and business development at SSRH. "This is a hospital resource that offers information, collaboration, education and connectivity designed to help people gain confidence to make more informed lifestyle and health choices."
The program works in concert with the "Spring into Wellness" community calendar of events that offers free classes, workshops and support groups, including diabetes education, Alzheimer's awareness, childbirth classes, grief support and nutritional education classes among many others. This provides an opportunity to bring free education about health, communication, relationships and life-balance issues to the community. By featuring a regular schedule of programs, classes, panel discussions and Q&A educational opportunities, the program provides opportunities to let the community receive answers it desires by meeting physicians and healthcare professionals regarding health topics that matter to them.
An advisory council has been assembled for the Healthy Community program to make this endeavor truly representative of partnerships all throughout the area to maximize outreach efforts among a diverse population.
"We identified influential local leaders with necessary passion, position and connections to help grow this mission of health outreach," Pearrow says. "This kind of program is most successful with the involvement of dynamic individuals who are personally invested in overall community promotion. Since, a lot of times, women are the key decisions makers in their households for health awareness, we began with a group of ladies who fall into this niche. Upon nomination from a core group, we then added another layer of recommended individuals to form the 2017 Healthy Community Advisory Council. I am proud to introduce this group as advocates and promoters of wellness in Siloam Springs."
The Advisory Council will network and serve as ambassadors on behalf of the program, communicate with others about upcoming programs and help promote Healthy Community events. During regular luncheon meetings at the hospital, the group shares thoughts and ideas about wellness partnership opportunities, healthcare issues, topics and events for physicians and other hospital and community professionals to present.
"Their input helps develop ideas for potential community partnerships that make the most impact. A primary goal is advancement of health and well being to the areas we serve through community outreach efforts," says Pearrow.
In an effort to reflect this expanded mission, the former ER Kids Fair & Health Expo has been rebranded as the Healthy Community Fair. Many of the same components that attendees have come to love will continue to be offered at the fair, but some new features have been added that will provide a more diverse focus on health resources for all stages of life.
New this year will be a live demonstration area that will feature a variety of performers to promote wellness, nutrition or activity. Every 15 to 30 minutes, an interactive demonstration will occur. One such demonstration will be provided by the hospital chef as he prepares a diabetes friendly meal with accompanying recipe available for attendees. Another added component will be a Candy Obstacle Course designed for children under 12 years of age.
"This course will position candy as the villains while kids go through different elements along the course, such as Gumball Gorge and Taffy Tangle. At the end, they will receive a medal and nutrition information that positively promotes the importance of fruits and vegetables in a diet. The Candy Course is an example of the value that the Advisory Council brings with new visions, and they will be spearheading this element of the fair from course design, build, implementation and supervision the day of the event," says Pearrow.
The Healthy Community Fair will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, May 13, on the Siloam Springs Regional Hospital campus. The community is invited to bring the entire family out for the vendor health expo, teddy bear clinic, games, inflatables, hot dogs, refreshments and much more. For more information, call (479) 215-3124.
About Siloam Springs Regional Hospital
Siloam Springs Regional Hospital is a 73 licensed bed facility with 42 private patient rooms. It is accredited by the State of Arkansas Department of Health Services and The Joint Commission. Some services include inpatient and outpatient surgery, emergency medicine, medical, surgical and intensive care units, obstetrics, outpatient diagnostic services and inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation. With more than 30 physicians on the medical staff, Siloam Springs Regional Hospital provides compassionate, customer-focused care. SSRH is an affiliate of Northwest Health, one of the largest health networks in Northwest Arkansas. The facility is located at 603 N. Progress Ave. in Siloam Springs. For more information, visit NorthwestHealth.com.
Editorial on 04/12/2017