FORT RUCKER, Ala. (February 27, 2015) -- Healthcare at Fort Rucker has come a long way since the first Army hospital on post opened its doors in 1942, and Lyster Army Health Clinic and Fort Rucker are doing their part to keep Soldiers, families and civilians healthy.
Soldiers, families and civilians are invited to attend the Fort Rucker Health Fair and Safety Stand Down at the festival fields March 13 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. A Post Run at 6 a.m. will kick off the day's events.
"This post run, health fair and safety stand down is designed to promote comprehensive health and wellbeing of Soldiers, families and civilians," said Maj. JoAnn Ward, chief of Preventative Medicine at Lyster Army Health Clinic. "Our focus will also be on safety awareness training for Aviation and ground topics."
According to Ward, the health fair will aim to focus on the five dimensions of strength within the Army Resilience Program: Physical, Emotional, Social, Family and Spiritual, as well as Injury Prevention and Risk Reduction.
"There will be fitness exhibitions, on-site health information, games, prizes, food and much more. At the heart of the health fair is a scavenger hunt, designed to make the event interactive for participants and serves as a means to obtain up to 120 points that will be counted toward Fort Rucker's Commander's Cup Competition," said Ward.
Throughout the health fair will be designated areas and activities pertaining to each of the dimensions of strength, as well as injury prevention, where participants can earn a certain number of points for the Commander's Cup and log them on their scavenger hunt forms.
"On-site will be outside vendors, entities from Lyster and the Fort Rucker installation that will be offering everything from physical activities like Zumba to activities designed to enhance your emotional wellbeing, such as relationship strengthening exercises in groups," said Ward.
In conjunction with the health fair, Lyster Army Health Clinic will host a triathlon against professional triathlete Doug Maclean twice during the day. Maclean, a former Navy officer turned professional triathlete in 2011, coaches triathletes, and offers consulting and analysis sessions on anything triathlon related. Those interested in participating should contact Capt. Nathan Kiser at 255-7456. Participants must provide their own bicycle, race clothing and running shoes.
Col. Gary Wheeler, Lyster commander, encourages everyone in the Fort Rucker community to attend the fit festival.
"Most important physical and emotional health decisions are not made in the doctor's office," said Wheeler. "They are made when people are at work or at home with their families. It is within this lifespace where the daily choices people make can impact their health. When our beneficiaries come to Lyster, our goal is to arm them with the education so that when they leave their appointment, they are more familiar with how to improve their overall physical and emotional health."
Ward echoed Wheeler's sentiments, saying the hope with hosting the health fair and safety stand down is that people will want to change behaviors long after they leave the event.
"When people are participating, winning prizes and gaining knowledge, we want them to put the knowledge of what they've learned to good use in their daily lives and strive to become healthier in all aspects of their lives," she said.
Admission to the health fair is free and scavenger hunt forms can be obtained from people's unit or command points of contact, or on-site at the festival.
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