November 9 - The Medical Center

5RetirementsCaroline Buckner, Monitor Tech(center), retired after 34 years of service.Congratulating her are Connie Smith,President and Chief Executive Officer (left),and Pat Gilpin, Clinical Manager of 3B.Geraldine Taylor, HousekeepingAttendant (center), retired after 31 years ofservice. Congratulating her are Effie Forte,Director Linen/Environmental Services(left) and Sarah Moore, Executive VicePresident.Trunk or Treat eventsfun for everyoneBRRCC Trunk or TreatBarren River Regional Cancer Centerhosted a very festive trunk or treat onMonday, October 31. Dr. Craig Tyree andthe staff dressed in elaborate costumesand decorated their vehicles based onindividual themes. The Halloween eventwas quite popular in Glasgow – over400 people stopped by to check out thecostumes and collect their candy!Heroes FestivalMedical Center EMS buzzed withexcitement on Saturday, October 29 asthey hosted the Heroes Festival. In itssecond year, the trunk or treat featuredlocal emergency service departmentsand attracted nearly 700 kids. Inaddition to the candy, guests got abehind-the-scenes look at the servicevehicles.Scottsville-Allen County Health FairOn Saturday, October 22, The MedicalCenter at Scottsville hosted the annualScottsville-Allen County Health Fair. Thismarks the fourth year that The MedicalCenter at Scottsville has hosted the event.The health fair was held at the YMCA ofTracy Wheeler knew she needed extramotivation to help her lose weight, so sheand co-workers Kellie Gearlds, StephanieBlackburn, and Michele Baldwin cameup with a plan that would help them stayaccountable for their weight loss goals. Theyasked other co-workers to join them in aBiggest Loser weight loss competition basedon the ABC show The Biggest Loser, wherecontestants commit to a 3-month diet andexercise program. They set out to rally 10co-workers to join them in the contest andended up getting 16 employees to sign-upfor the challenge. To participate, each coworkerput money into a “pot” that was latersplit and awarded to the top three “losers.”The rules for the contest were easy andless involved than that of the namesake.With this group’s program, the participantsofficially weighed in twice—once at thebeginning and once at the end of the contest.Each participant chose her own dietand exercise plan, and the only rule wasthat it had to be healthy weight loss—nostarvation diets or medications. The contestbegan on August 1 when several employeesfrom Nursery, one Information Technologyand one Respiratory employee weighed inat Michele’s house. Michele says all the participantssupported each other throughoutthe competition. Many participants utilizedScottsville & Allen County in conjunctionwith their Healthy Kids Day. The jointevents provided activities for all ages,with around 150 people taking advantageof the services and information fromthe health fair. The Dermascan screeningand those provided by the Rural HealthClinic, physical therapy, respiratory, andlab departments were popular amongguests. Certain lab work required gueststo fast beforehand, so healthy snacksand drinks were available. With nearly 30booths, multiple screenings, and interestingdemonstrations, The Medical Centerat Scottsville kicked off a new fall seasonof improved health for residents of AllenCounty.Group loses over 200 pounds with Biggest Loser contest!an iPhone application to help them countcalories and keep track of exercise, and thenshared that information with others in thegroup. They kept the competitive nature ofthe program as well. Co-workers would teaseeach other by encouraging one another to“cheat” and eat something less than healthy.The contest closed on October 31 withanother weigh-in at Michele’s house. Thewinner…er, loser, was determined basedon the percentage of body weight lost. Firstplace went to Tracy Wheeler, Nursery, wholost 18%. Second place went to Crissy Willis,Information Technology, at 15.5% and thirdplace went to Sabrina Miller, Respiratory,who lost 11.3% body weight. Tracy said shelost her weight by counting calories andworking out on an elliptical machine. Crissylost weight by being careful about eatingout. “One of the hardest things was that youreally had to plan ahead for meal times,”Crissy said. “So that I could stay with myweight loss goals, I avoided going out to eatwith family and I didn’t eat fast food.”Congratulations to the Biggest Losergroup for taking the initiative to lose weightand get in shape! Let us know about yourdepartment’s strides to be healthier or loseweight. Email skferia@chc.net with yourstory.