Robyn received a flyer about Yale New Haven Hospital’s Get Healthy Walk & Talk with a Doc through her employer’s wellness program six years ago. Throughout the years she has worked on controlling her weight and was open to such offerings, as she has engaged in other health events such as free Zumba classes, yoga workshops, and many others. These classes were always one-time offers, however Walk & Talk with a Doc is weekly, and convenient for Robyn because it is just a few blocks from her home.
Walk & Talk with a Doc is a weekly opportunity to bring the community and healthcare providers together to engage in healthy activity. Started in 2016, Walk & Talk with a Doc is a collaboration between Yale New Haven Hospital, Get Healthy CT, and the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine and Medicine/Pediatrics Residency programs at YNHH. Physicians volunteer to be present and available to provide health-related information in an informal manner, including the “Medical Minute”, which covers a specific topic in depth each week.
Walkers meet every Saturday from May through September at 9:00 am at the New Freedom Missionary Baptist Church in New Haven, CT. The walks start at the corner of Starr Street and Shelton Avenue and take place along the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, heading north towards Hamden. The walks last for about one hour and typically cover about two miles. The Canal Trail makes for an easy and flat walking path that minimizes street crossings while seeing New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood and parts of southern Hamden. The walks are free and open to anybody of any fitness level.
Newhallville is a historically under-resourced community challenged with poor health outcomes. The goal, then, is to engage members from our community around physical activity. We aim to attract walkers via the presence of physicians and an active group experience. In this way, we are promoting healthy activity and providing useful health information in an informal, non-clinical setting. We also hope to make our walkers more comfortable talking to their own physicians. An added value is the opportunity for physicians to get to know the community in which their patients live.
The Walk & Talk with a Doc experience is one of public health and community engagement. The physicians who participate have delivered “Medical Minute” topics ranging from safe pharmaceutical storage and disposal, the importance of fiber in one’s diet, the effects of exercise on mental health, and many others. Impromptu discussions often occur, raising useful conversations on healthy sleeping habits, menopause and aging, and how diet effects cholesterol and heart health.
The Walk & Talk with a Doc experience is one of public health and community engagement. The physicians who participate have delivered “Medical Minute” topics ranging from safe pharmaceutical storage and disposal, the importance of fiber in one’s diet, the effects of exercise on mental health, and many others. Impromptu discussions often occur, raising useful conversations on healthy sleeping habits, menopause and aging, and how diet effects cholesterol and heart health.
Andrew Orefice, Program Coordinator, Walk & Talk with a Doc
For Robyn, these weekly walks have become a way to bring her friends and coworkers together on Saturday mornings to get active, and it’s not just during the scheduled walks. Robyn now walks almost every day, year-round, and encourages others to do the same.
We welcome physicians to volunteer to lead the walks and work closely with Resident Chiefs on scheduling. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please contact Andrew Orefice at Andrew.orefice@ynhh.org or call (203) 688-5671.
By: Andrew Orefice, Program Coordinator, Walk & Talk with a Doc