Wellness Fair Offers Wealth of Health Tips For Touro Employees
Scores of Touro College employees who had questions about their cholesterol, blood pressure, or back pain, among other health concerns, came to the right place on March 25 for Touro’s first annual Employee Spring Wellness Fair, sponsored by Human Resources. The purpose of the event was to integrate tools for education, fitness, sickness prevention, and healthy living to encourage everyone to make smarter choices.
Experts from the School of Health Sciences and human resources transformed the sixth floor of the midtown campus at 27 West 23rd Street into a bustling wellness clinic, offering many services and consultations including biometrics (the most popular service), cardiovascular analysis, hearing screenings, and chair fit positioning.
Daisy Rivera-Rodriguez from Human Resources co-planned the event, along with Emil Euaparadorn, Associate Director of Physical Therapy at SHS. They reported that nearly 90 employees had signed up for biometric screenings that measured key health markers such as blood sugar and BMI (body mass index).
For some of our employees in the 25-30 year old range, high cholesterol readings were found. “They wouldn’t have known about this potential health concern had they not been tested here today,” said Margaret McEvoy, one of the nurses performing the screenings. In high-cholesterol employees, the nurses recommended changes in diet and exercise. If the readings were very high, they were advised to see their doctors.
Euaparadorn and his team, meanwhile, performed cardio-vascular and muscular-skeletal consultations. “Lower back pain is one of the top 10 reasons why people see a doctor,” he said. He reminded visitors that our spines should not be twisted or bent for prolonged periods. “There can be a million wrong things about sitting, so be mindful of being in precarious positions for a long time.” His team suggested simple tips for getting more activity, such as getting off the subway one stop earlier, or drinking plenty of water to guarantee trips to the bathroom.
The subject turned to being comfortable at bedtime. “When we have quality sleep at night, that’s when we heal. It’s the key to life. It also helps long term memory. But all of these things we gain at night, are lost if we toss and turn,” Euaparadorn said.
Also at the fair were representatives from Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield, BenefitsVIP, NurseVIP, and the Employee Assistance Program− all plans that are offered through Touro’s dept. of Human Resources.
Rivera-Rodriguez was pleased with the day’s events. “It’s been a great turnout,” she said.
