The Warsaw Chamber of Commerce and Memorial Hospital successfully partnered to host a Wellness Expo at the Bott Community Center on Saturday, April 20. The well-attended free event received solid community support for its foundational theme: Wellness Matters!
The event was promoted as “an immersive experience with an array of engaging activities for kids, informative workshops, and essential health screening.” The morning’s events featured A1C and blood pressure screenings, bounce house delights, cooking demonstrations for children, a teddy bear clinic, opportunities for talk with vendors, and prize drawings.
According to a hospital press release, the Expo’s goal was to “promote holistic well-being and encourage healthy lifestyle choices.” This focus was exemplified by the attractive, balanced complimentary breakfast featuring breakfast casserole, honey-sweetened yogurt, granola, fruit, and chocolate banana and blueberry muffins. Attendees were able to engage in conversations while savoring all the food groups.
Memorial Hospital’s Amber Clark (Chef Amber), Director of Hospitality Brad Culpepper, and Ashlyn Housewright, the executive director of Community Health and Wellness, coordinated the meal with the understanding that dining is a social and nutritional event. They were also mindful that “pretty on the plate” matters A variety of colorful food provides optimal nutrition and a more satisfying dining experience generally, but Clark, Culpepper, and Housewright were keenly aware that this is crucial in maintaining hospital patients’ morale. Culpepper noted that Memorial Hospital ranks in the 99th percentile for quality of patient food and in the 95th percentile for the courtesy of staff members presenting the menu and food.
Clark, Culpepper, and Housewright were on hand to discuss dietary issues with attendees and Clark and Food and Nutrition Services staff member Sophia Brackenbury conducted demonstrations that readily appealed to both the young set and their parents and grandparents. Teresa Culpepper, RN, and Kayce Fuhrman, RN and director of Diabetes Services, offered A1C diabetes screenings. Throughout the morning, attendees were encouraged to become more familiar with the hospital’s emphasis on integrative medicine, which “combines conventional and complementary therapies like herbs, supplements, and mind-body practices for optimal health and wellness.”
In an article, “The Difference between Health and Wellness,” Stephanie Murdock, executive director of Occupational Medicine and Employee Health at OCCMED Sanford Health, noted: “People often use the terms health and wellness interchangeably, but the terms do have different meanings. The primary difference between health and wellness is that health is the goal and wellness is the active process of achieving it.
Health refers to a state where the physical body is free from disease, while wellness refers to an overall balance of a person’s physical, social, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, environmental and occupational well-being.
Wellness is achieved when someone strives for balance in their life by constantly making choices to further their health and fulfillment. Wellness has a direct influence on overall health.”
Warsaw resident Gina Clarke discussed mental health and her excitement at opening her “in person” space for Rivers Edge Wellness this summer. She said she “was a school social worker for West Central Illinois Special Ed Cooperative of Macomb for 11 years.” She was hired by Central CUSD 3 serving Camp Point and Golden for the 2022-2023 school year and decided to go into private practice. She said she, “officially started Rivers Edge Wellness in June 2023. At that time, it was 100% remote online. I’m also a therapist for Better Health – the Better Health website.” Currently, most of her clients are on Better Health, and “I have about 12 that are Rivers Edge or my own personal clients. I do have several people that I see in person.” Clarke uses the Warsaw or Keokuk Libraries for sessions “because my in-person space isn’t open yet. We close on the building (on Main Street) in May and I’m really hoping to have it open [with the] ribbon cutting probably towards the end of June.”
Stephanie Froman’s successful business, Body Caviar (adapted from Gina and Joe Clarke’s business name, Warsaw Caviar) is the result of recognizing the need for quality products to care for our skin – a major and visible organ – researching techniques and ingredients and discerning which to use in creating her unique line of self-care items.
Memorial Hospital’s focus on integrative medicine and wellness coordinates with the Chamber of Commerce’s stated mission to build a “vibrant quality of place.” Recognizing that a strong Warsaw is an engaged Warsaw, the chamber’s leaders are steadily addressing the community’s well-being and sense of fulfillment by exploring residents’ diverse interests, showcasing their talents, and partnering/networking with businesses to encourage financial and interpersonal strength. The popular Farmers Markets in Ralston Park were the result of listening to provide residents with opportunities to gather socially and offer vendors chances to develop new ideas and skills in marketing their products. Farmers Market coordinators, Teresa Beeler and Jane Roskamp, were at the Expo to encourage participation as vendors and patrons. Food trucks, vendors, and entertainers begin making appearances in the park on Wednesday, May 8.
While the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce isn’t directly involved in the Geode Glen Park and Hiking Trail Expansion, President Cass Grunewald is involved as part of a “grass roots effort started by Gary Huston and Kody Knoche to work with the park board to bring this project, which provides for a one-and-a half-mile trail, a new nature-inspired playground, and, in keeping with residents’ requests, a nine-hole disc golf course, to fruition. A booth at the Wellness Expo, manned by local chiropractor, Dr. Duane Prior, featured an attractive schematic for the trail and provided opportunities for attendees to purchase a T-shirt in support of the $9,400 needed to fund the engineered drawings required to apply for grants. Prior, a member of the Warsaw Park Board, noted that the chamber and board are partnering to bring this dream to fruition because abundant research shows that hiking and spending time in nature promotes wellness.
Memorial Hospital partnered with the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce to present the Wellness Expo to the community because “Prioritizing wellness has never been more crucial.” The hospital “aims to empower individuals with the knowledge and resources they need to lead healthier, happier lives.”
Chamber of Commerce President Cass Grunewald commented, “The chamber was thrilled with the turnout and support from the community. We cannot say enough positive things about Memorial Hospital and their support with this event.”
