Minutes in Motion registration begins Feb. 13

WHITEHALL, Wis. - Registration is now open for the Gundersen Lutheran Health System's sixth Minutes in Motion Activity Challenge.

Minutes in Motion is a six-week physical activity challenge open to everyone, including Trempealeau County residents served by Tri-County Memorial Hospital in Whitehall and the health system's primary-care clinics in Whitehall, Blair and Independence, Wis.

The challenge begins Monday, March 26, and ends Sunday, May 6. Register at Gundersen Lutheran's Minutes in Motion web page. The first 2,000 people to register will be entered to win a $200 gift card.

Participating in Minutes in Motion is easy and free. You can join individually or as a team, said Pat Deninger, Tri-County Memorial Public Relations and Marketing director.

Aim for 30 minutes of physical activity each day or a total of 1,260 minutes in six weeks. If you meet the 1,260-minute goal, you’ll be eligible to win local and health-system prizes, including a $500 gift card.

Linda Larson, Gundersen Lutheran wellness education specialist and Minutes in Motion organizer, said Minutes in Motion allows participants to pick any activity that fits your lifestyle, "whether it is gardening, walking the dog, weightlifting, yoga or playing active Xbox 360 or Wii games."

Kris Benusa, Tri-County Memorial Hospital registered dietitian, added that Minutes in Motion is a perfect follow-up for individuals currently participating in Tri-County's Smartest-Loser Nutrition and Activity Challenge.

That program is in its third year, Benusa said, and "it's our goal that at the start of each new year we offer two programs that can motivate you and support you for almost the entire first half of the year."

At the end of Minutes in Motion, participants throughout western Wisconsin, southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa celebrate their efforts at local events.

For the second year, Tri-County Memorial will host the local event in Whitehall. Deninger said dates and additional news will be shared in March.

Larson noted that in 2011, 3,326 people took part in Minutes in Motion and recorded more than 4.5 million total minutes of physical activity.

For complete information about Minutes in Motion, please go to the web site. If you have local questions, please e-mail Deninger or call 715.538.4361, ext. 1010.

Tri-County Memorial Foundation scholarship applications now available; deadline is Friday, April 6

WHITEHALL, Wis. – Tri-County Memorial Foundation scholarship applications for the Lisa Rostvold and Ginger Everson memorial scholarships, and the Community Investment Healthcare Scholarship, are now available for area graduating seniors and community members.

The healthcare scholarship applications and complete guidelines can be downloaded here. Deadline for all is Friday, April 6, 2011.

For more information about the scholarships, please download complete information online, contact your school guidance counselor or Patrick Deninger, Tri-County Memorial public relations and marketing director, at (715) 538-4361, ext. 1010.

Ginger Everson Memorial Scholarship

The scholarship is named after Virginia “Ginger” Everson, a Whitehall High School student who died in a car accident in 1973. She had been accepted into the nursing program at Viterbo College in La Crosse, Wis.

Everson’s family established the scholarship in her honor and has awarded scholarships for nearly four decades. The Tri-County Memorial Foundation oversees the scholarship with continuing family input.

The $1,000 scholarship is open to graduating seniors and residents of the Blair-Taylor, Independence and Whitehall school districts who wish to purse any healthcare-related career.

Lisa Rostvold Memorial Scholarship

The Lisa Rostvold scholarship memorializes the Taylor, Wis., resident, who was killed in a car accident near Taylor in December 2003.

At the time, Rostvold was a certified nursing assistant at Tri-County Memorial Nursing Home in Whitehall. She was attending Chippewa Valley Technical College to become a licensed practical nurse.

The annual scholarship awards $1,200 for two- or four-year nursing training. The scholarship is open to students from the Blair-Taylor, Eleva-Strum, Independence and Whitehall school districts.

Community Investment Healthcare scholarships

In autumn 2010, The Tri-County Memorial Foundation announced the creation of three Community Investment Health Scholarships.

The $1,000 scholarships will be awarded to one recipient in the Blair-Taylor, Independence and Whitehall school districts. Like the Ginger Everson scholarship, applicants can be pursuing any healthcare-related field.

National Healthy Weight Week is Jan. 15-21

WHITEHALL, Wis. - Tri-County Memorial Hospital, part of the Trempealeau County Healthy Weight Coalition, invites community members to participate in National Healthy Weight Week Jan. 15 - 21.

The new year is a good time to make positive changes in your life, according to Kris Benusa, Tri-County Memorial registered dietitian.

"Make yourself and your health a priority this year," Benusa said, noting that 28 percent of Trempealeau County citizens are overweight. "You can improve your weight and protect your health with a few simple efforts."

• Get 30 minutes of exercise daily.The 30 minutes does not have to be all at one time. It can be 15 minutes at lunch and 5 minutes at other times. Take stairs. Park at the back of the parking lot to increase the number of steps you take.

"Exercise burns calories, strengthens your muscles and improves your energy," she said.

• Eat five servings of fruits or vegetables every day.

"Use lunch and breaks to reach this goal," Benusa said. "If you eat one serving of fruit or vegetable at each meal, plus eat one serving -- a piece of fruit or bag of carrots -- at two breaks, you have your five servings."

She stressed the importance of bringing vegetables from home if they're not available at workplace. "Fruits and vegetables are low in calories and provide much-needed nutrients."

The Trempealeau County Healthy Weight Coalition’s mission is to support the creation of worksite environments that promote healthy food choices and increase physical activity to achieve a healthy weight.

If you'd like more information, please contact Barb Barczak at the Trempealeau County Health Department at 715.538.2311, ext. 231 or Benusa at 715.538.4361, ext. 1037.

Smartest Loser 3x and Zumba set to launch in January

Tri-County Memorial Hospital launches a 12-week weight-loss and activity challenge beginning in January.

Kris Benusa, Tri-County Memorial Nutrition Services director and registered dietitian, said Smartest Loser 3X runs from Jan. 15 through April 7. It’s open to everyone in Tri-County Memorial’s service area.

Cost is $20 per person, and participants join as three-member teams, she said. Each member charts their daily activity and efforts to improve nutrition choices. For those efforts, they earn points, Benusa said.

In April, Benusa tallies the points and first-, second- and third-place teams earn a percentage of registration fees.

“It’s not a race to lose as much weight as possible,” Benusa stressed. “Some participants may see modest weight losses, but they earn points for being steadily active and eating better.”

A typical Smartest Loser 3X week would include the goal of doing 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily plus 20 minutes of strength training every other day. Those would be paired with various nutrition goals such as eating more fruits and vegetables, avoiding sugar and eating more whole-grain foods. All those would earn participants points, she said.

“We’ve held Smartest Loser team programs for Tri-County Memorial staff for a few years. They enjoy it, and they’ve seen good results,” Benusa said.

No weight-loss program can guarantee results, but “we know Smartest Loser 3X participants feel better and become more health conscious in all that you do,” she said. “Those two things alone are worth the price.”

Registration will be held Jan. 10-12 from 2:30-5:30 each day at Tri-County Memorial in the first-floor cafeteria. All team members must attend so that baseline weights can be recorded.

For more information, contact Benusa at (715) 538-4361, ext. 1037.

Zumba begins Jan. 9, 11 in Whitehall and Ettrick; Minutes in Motion launches in April

At the start of 2012, Tri-County Memorial’s Smartest Loser 3X program launches what can be an effort to be more active all the way to summer, said Pat Deninger, Public Relations and Marketing Director.

Zumba begins in January in Whitehall and Ettrick to get local dancers and exercisers in motion. Zumba describes itself as a fun, easy to follow, Latin-inspired dance fitness program for all ages and abilities.

Certified instructor Carla Doelle will lead the classes:

• Whitehall - Mondays and Thursdays, 4:45 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 36158 Abrams St.
• Ettrick - Wednesdays, 5:45 p.m. at the Community Center, 15570 School St.

Cost is $5 per class, but participants who purchase the $20, five-class punch card get their fifth class free. The punch card can be used at either class location.

For more information, please call Tri-County Memorial Rehabilitation Services at 715.538.1713.

To keep up the activity as Smartest Loser 3X winds down, Deninger said, the Gundersen Lutheran Health System’s Minutes in Motion program starts up.

That program in April and May emphasizes activity and concludes in spring with a local participant celebration at Tri-County Memorial, Deninger said.

Gundersen Lutheran currently is finishing plans for the 2012 Minutes in Motion program, he said. More information will be shared in February.

Tri-County Memorial, Gundersen Lutheran host blood drive Nov. 3 in Whitehall

Tri-County Memorial Hospital and Gundersen Lutheran will host its next blood drive Thursday, Nov. 3, from noon to 5 p.m. in the Whitehall hospital’s first-floor conference room and adjoining areas.

The blood drive is held in conjunction with BloodCenter of Wisconsin, which provides Tri-County Memorial and Gundersen Lutheran its entire blood supply, according to Pat Deninger, Tri-County Memorial public relations and marketing director.

Community members who wish to donate should contact blood-drive coordinator Janet Waldera at 715.538.4361, ext. 2045.