CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State workers got a chance to stretch their legs at the West Virginia Capitol building Tuesday morning.
The West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Agency (PEIA) partnered with Personify Health to host the Mountaineer Mile event, a one-mile walk around the Capitol to promote physical activity among state employees.
Brent Wolfingbarger
PEIA Director Brent Wolfingbarger noted that the event is perfect for April.
“It’s very important because sometimes people get in the doldrums during the winter, and it’s cold, it’s hard to get motivated to be physically active,” Wolfingbarger said. “Now the spring’s here, it’s warmer, it’s easier to get out to our state parks, and ride a bike along the river, just things that actually don’t even cost a whole lot of money. It’s just a matter of structuring your time and going and making it a priority to become more physically involved.”
Free t-shirts were distributed to the first 100 state workers who registered. Sunny skies and mid-50s temperatures greeted those who walked.
Personify Health’s Michelle Robinson said the organization is committed to boosting health.
“We’re thrilled to be able to partner with PEIA to help support such a worthwhile initiative on a day like this, where it’s beautiful and encouraging folks to get away from their desks for a little while, come out, walk a mile, enjoy the beautiful weather, the social aspect of being together and encouraging each other to focus on your health and well-being.”
“Personify Health loves to partner with organizations to help health and well-being and benefits to be more accessible to their employees,” Robinson continued. “So, when we have that opportunity to partner with organizations like PEIA and other organizations across the world, we really do like to take advantage of that and that employees know that it’s accessible and it’s easy to be healthy and to focus on well-being.”
Robinson added that it was fitting for the Mountaineer Mile to take place at the Capitol because of Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s support of the initiative.
Wolfingbarger said there are many different ways that state workers can be physically active.
“We wanted to spread the word about our Personify wellness platform because a lot of PEIA members don’t know about it,” Wolfingbarger said. “It’s a great way for people to become more physically active. There’s an app called Sworkit where people can do physical workouts at home, watching videos, weight-lifting, yoga, aerobics, things of that nature. There’s another app through Personify called Foodsmart which helps people develop more healthy recipes, figure out what your budget is, what type of items would be healthy if you’ve got a gluten sensitivity or you’re lactose interolant, how you can create healthy recipes that take into consideration your personal limitations but still help improve your health, the healthiness of the food you’re bringing into your body.”
The Mountaineer Mile event in itself is a great start towards better physical fitness, Wolfingbarger said.
“Just getting out and walking and being physically active and getting the blood flowing, it helps reduce blood pressure, it helps to lose weight, helps to build your cardiovascular stamina. It’s fantastic, and when people start becoming more physically active, they feel better, they have a better mental attitude, and the more they do it, the more they want to do it.”
Robinson said she is excited for the future of such events.
“The hope [is] that there’s a regular initiative, and a regular push to have these in-person events that encourage folks to come together, move their bodies, focus on their health and wellness, enjoy that social aspect of being together and encouraging each other to care about their health and their well-being.”
Wolfingbarger said he hopes the Mountaineer Mile can be inspirational to those who participated.
“We want people to take ownership of their health, to realize that they’re not helpless, they can get active, they can make that conscious decision to go out and start becoming more physically active, start watching what they eat, and have better health outcomes and better quality of life.”
