FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – Despite a blast of winter weather, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital hosted a Wellness Fair Feb. 26 at Nutter Field House to kick off the post’s Healthy Community 2013 campaign.
The purpose of the fair was to provide the Fort Leonard Wood community with resources to begin and sustain a healthy lifestyle.
The vision for Fort Leonard Wood is to be the healthiest installation in the Army, Col. Marie Dominguez, General Leonard Wood Army Community Hospital commander, said.
When you look at health trends, we don’t just have an Army problem, and it’s not only an American problem, it is a cultural problem across the globe, Dominguez said.
“We intend to do our part here at Fort Leonard Wood to make the resources available for soldiers and our total Army family to be healthier," she said. "Our goal is to set up our beneficiaries for success through improved health promotion and access to healthy activities throughout 2013.”
The Healthy Community 2013 program focuses on improving activity and exercise levels, nutrition, sleep, smoking cessation, and weight loss, she said.
The good news is that even small changes in lifestyle can lead to significant improvement in health, Dominguez said.
The Wellness Fair offered hands-on demonstrations including Couch Potato Olympics, running shoe advice, fitness demos by Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation, hand hygiene, activities to enhance memory, along with wellness screenings, such as Body Mass Index and blood pressure, Bruce Russell, the hospital’s Preventive Medicine Division administration officer, said.