WASHINGTON — We’re all going to die someday, but one D.C.-area organization wants people to delay the inevitable, while enjoying optimal health and wellness.
Imagine finding out about elevated blood pressure at age 16. That was Gertie Hurley’s early introduction to chronic disease.
“At the age of 21, I was on medication for high blood pressure,” she says.
After years questing for the best ways to keep healthy and stay relaxed, she founded Taking Effective Action, or T.E.A., an organization based in Prince George’s County, Maryland, that specializes in wellness education programs.
And on Sept. 26, T.E.A. is hosting a Celebration of Life at New Beginnings Community Church in Bowie.
“What we do is not a fair,” Hurley says. “It is like a day of learning and empowerment.”
And a day that focuses on heart health.
Michael Hall, the pastor at New Beginnings, says he’s committed to improving the health of his congregants and the community at large.
“Over the years in pastoring, I’ve heard people say sad things like, ‘We all have to die from something.’ And I’ve finally come up with an answer to that. Perhaps not so soon.”
On the day of the festival, T.E.A. will also wrap up a monthslong “battle of the bulge” contest by rewarding a $500 prize to the person who’s most decreased his waist circumference.
While it’s too late to enter this year’s contest, which started in June, Hurley says it’s a good time to get in on next year’s. The prelude to the 2016 competition: A new round of monthly health and wellness classes, which will start in October.
Dr. Patricia Davidson, a cardiologist with MedStar Washington Hospital Center, says health experts at the event will address men’s and women’s health issues, conduct cooking demonstrations and give nutrition advice. They’ll also show folks how to ease exercise into their other daily activities.
Ophthalmologist Dr. Renee Bovelle, of Envision Eye and Laser Center, and her staff will be on hand to conduct eye screenings.
“The eyes are important because you don’t think about them until you have a problem,” Bovelle says. “But we all use our eyes every day, and many people say if there was one sense that they would not want to lose, it’s the sense of vision. So I say your eyes are the windows to your health in addition to being the windows to your soul.”
She adds: “The first most important thing for good ocular health is good general health.”
A Celebration of Life: Wellness Day 2015 will held from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m. It is free, but registration is required by Sept. 22.
