Employee fitness goes to the head of the class

Teachers were out of their classrooms, dancing in the gym, stretching their legs in the hallway and having a healthy meal in the cafeteria of Lake Central High School during the Health Fair sponsored for all employees by Lake Central School Corp.’s Wellness Committee.

The day was meant to be enjoyable, but also informative and practical. Franciscan Alliance was on site providing blood draws for health screenings. School district employees were lined up down the hall and around the corner waiting for their turn.

“I’m on cholesterol medication and this is an extra blood draw to see where my numbers are,” said Emily Traficante, fifth-grade teacher at Kahler Middle School. “I had never had blood drawn before I did the last fair and I found out I had high cholesterol the first time I did this. “

The effort is meant to help keep absenteeism low by providing education on healthy living for all school corporation employees, said Jeanne Mrzlock, nurse at Clark Middle School and one of the 20 members of the Wellness Committee who helped put the fair together.

“I have had staff members come to me and say, ‘Thank you, I would never have known about my cholesterol or thyroid’ if they had not had the test done at the Health Fair,” Mrzlock said.

Each Health Fair participant was given a card at the registration desk. Participants were required to attend one presentation and visit five vendor tables Thursday and have it marked on their card. Completed cards were turned in and staff members receive $120 reimbursement on their employee health insurance, Mrzlock said. Lake Central offers its employees a self-funded insurance program.

“We just believe it is an important component of our total package of being a Lake Central employee,” said Larry Veracco, superintendent. We’ll do a survey to see what participants liked and then we can do little components during the year.”

Mrzlock and Louise Tallent, the Family and Consumer Science teacher at the high school, were busy all morning helping to ensure the Health Fair was running smoothly.

A motivational speaker, Michael Miller, gave a talk in the LGI Room on how stress can negatively affect a person’s health — and the health of those around him.

Upstairs in the gym, Tim and Sue Bourget, owners of the Second Street Dance of Schererville, guide a group of women teachers through the box step. At the conclusion of the lesson, the Bourgets demonstrated a ballroom dance sequence.

“Ballroom dancing is a great hobby,” said Tim Bourget. “Older folks do puzzles to work their mind. You do the same with ballroom dancing and you can meet people and have fun.”

Other active opportunities at the fair included yoga and Zumba classes in the downstairs gyms.

In a small meeting room with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the J Hall, Rob James, director of business services, and Angie Szymborski, benefits coordinator, explained the Teachers’ Retirement Fund (TRF) and Public Employees’ Retirement Fund (PERF) to staff members.

“I think it was a great program,” said Tammy Hart, fifth-grade teacher at Clark Middle School. “They gave us a lot of great information about our retirement.”

Szymborski said she thought the Health Fair was a great way to start off the year and the presenting the program was rewarding for her, too

Four hallways were lined with long tables featuring vendors handing out promotional items and information. The types of vendors varied from health clubs including Anytime Fitness, Fitness Pointe, OMNI and Southlake YMCA to retailers such as Baum’s Natural Foods, Cabela’s, Fleet Street and Sam’s Club.

Franciscan Alliance Healthcare was a major presence in the North Side Hall with representatives there from behavioral health, cancer prevention, nutrition, sleep disorders and mammogram information.

At one vendor station in the Main Street West hall, Melody Wolff, first-grade teacher at Homan Elementary School and Vendor Coordinator for the Health Fair, was laying on a narrow table to get her legs stretched by Ginger Rex, fascial stretch therapist.

“I’m a runner and when I run my legs get tight and this helps stretch the muscles,” said Wolff.

As she stretched Wolff’s leg, Rex said fascial stretch therapy is intended to increase range of motion, improve performance and reduce pain and risk of injury.

More Top Picks Best Field Watches For Fall

Like any other fair, the Health Fair served food — but fair goers walked away with more than a plate of nutrition. Chef Scott Tope of Michaels & Associates dished out advice on healthy eating and cooking along with a plate of pasta.

Nancy Coltun Webster is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.