Army Medical Command's (MEDCOM) Performance Triad guidelines determine that at least 10,000 steps per day -- approximately five miles- are a suitable activity benchmark. On April 4, much of the staff at the Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG)/MEDCOM headquarters in Falls Church, Va., got in "part of your activity today, a mile and half," said Maj. Gen. Brian Lein, Army deputy surgeon general.
This is the second such event at MEDCOM headquarters. Last December it was inaugurated as the "Jingle Walk" in keeping with the holiday spirit of the season, with participants attired in reindeer antlers and Santa hats atop their PT gear. This event's theme was "March Madness," paying homage to the college basketball tournaments going on during its original scheduling, which was postponed once due to most unseasonal snowy weather. This time around participants sported sweatshirts, tees, and team mascot hats paying homage to their college loyalties.
"I would love for us to this more often," said Lein.
Hospital and other location employees, military and civilian, are encouraged to get moving, to incorporate activity in their daily lives (along with proper sleep and nutrition). Why not have fun and encourage team spirit while doing so?
"Every quarter the intent is to get folks out because we don't get that opportunity here, everybody is so busy," said Col. Jennifer Mero, MEDCOM's G-3/5/7 director of Patient Care Integration. Not only does it support the Performance Triad, she added, but "it gets everybody out of their cubicles to laugh, enjoy and meet new people." It also gets competitive within the organization: "everybody's wearing their Fitbits, wondering 'how many steps did I do' with some doing extra to get more steps" because "there is a competition among directorates."
The idea for the walk had its origins in a similar walk held at Fort McNair during the Halloween season, an event that featured costumes and health presentations, notes Barbara Ryan, System For Health training, communication and education lead. Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho wanted to do a similar holiday event aimed at building community at MEDCOM and Defense Health Agency (DHA) headquarters.
Horoho was also inspired the following month when she inaugurated the Health Base Initiative at Fort Bragg that featured a 5K walk/run. So, an amalgam of the two previous events resulted in the Jingle Walk - fulfilling goals outlined in the Performance Triad initiative coupled with spreading holiday cheer. The March Madness walk is a seasonal extension of that theme.
The Performance Triad is the foundation for Army Medicine's transformation to a System For Health, a partnership among Soldiers, Families, leaders, health teams and communities to promote Readiness, Resilience and Responsibility. The focus of the Performance Triad is on Sleep, Activity, and Nutrition. Visit the Performance Triad Web page at: http://armymedicine.mil/Pages/performance-triad.aspx
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