38,000 Mercy co-workers across Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma are stepping inside the circle to hula hoop for health on National Employee Health and Fitness Day, May 16. Mercy is the eighth largest Catholic health care system in the U.S. and serves more than 3 million people annually through 31 hospitals and more than 200 outpatient facilities. “As a culture, it has completely dropped out of our brains that exercise can be fun. We have forgotten how important it is to have recess as adults,” said Dr. Lance Luria, Mercy’s health and wellness vice president and medical director. “We make sure to break out our long to-do lists every day, but we forget to exercise and eat healthy. Without balance in our lives, everything gets out of whack and we become very unhealthy – physically, emotionally and spiritually.” In an effort to bring back balance and have fun, Mercy co-workers are picking up hula hoops to get moving as they are “Hoopin’ to Healthify.” Nurses, doctors, surgeons, administrators and staff across Mercy’s four states will be hooping it up. “The message is simple: get to hoopin’ or moving,” said Luria. “You only have one life to live, so live it to the fullest. Make every day count. As health care providers, we have a responsibility to model healthy lifestyle choices for a nation that is sedentary. We must measure up to the same expectations we teach our patients and our communities.” To help get everyone hoopin’, Rapper M.C. Spookytooth created the music video below with Mercy co-workers. Check it out:
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