City promoting employee wellness at health fair

Published 10:23 am Friday, October 9, 2015

The city of Brookhaven will host a health fair and screening for all city employees in the city boardroom Oct. 14.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the health fair, screenings will be available to test blood pressure, cholesterol level, bone density, BMI and glucose level.

Kim Bridge, community education coordinator at King’s Daughters Medical Center; Brittany Nichols, health consultant with KDMC Wellness Works; Terri Burns, KDMC employee health nurse and Amy Case, KDMC diabetic educator, will offer their services for these screenings. Todd Peavey, director of KDMC fitness center, will be on hand to calculate employees’ body mass index.

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“The City of Brookhaven is excited to offer this health and wellness event for its 150-plus employees,” said Karen Sullivan, alderman-at-large and an organizer of the event. “We hope to educate city employees further in three areas: on prevention of illness as well as treating it, on the path to changing their lifestyle to a healthier one and on the importance of taking advantage of their free ‘Healthy You’ doctor visit. We hope it will serve as a motivator for those wanting to make changes in their health.”

The screeners will visit the Brookhaven Police Department at 7 a.m. and the Brookhaven Fire Department at 8:30 a.m.

Various booths will be set up around the boardroom to educate and encourage employees about a variety of health issues. Lori Carter, project coordinator of the Lincoln and Copiah County Tobacco Free Coalition, will focus on health issues associated with tobacco. Kim Bridge will explain his free tobacco cessation program.

“We feel that it is our responsibility to emphasize wellness to our employees and to help them keep their own health on their minds,” Sullivan said. “As we all know, prevention is the cornerstone of good health; it’s easier to prevent an illness than to treat it. The city wants to help its valued employees take the right road on their journey toward better health.”

Flu shots are to be given in the boardroom on Oct. 20 and flyers with information about the shots will be handed out at the fair.