June 9, 2014

The staff at the Stephen and Sandra Sheller 11^th Street Family Health Services Center hosted another successful Annual Women’s Day of Health on May 30. After women from the surrounding community registered for the event in the health center lobby, they headed downstairs to kick off the day with fitness trainer John Kirby. In his “Wonder Women” class, Kirby and the ladies “learned the magic of weight training” to “strengthen bones [and] increase…metabolism.”

Chelsea Van, a student in the Physician Assistant Program at Drexel’s College of Nursing and Health Professions, and Yanni Eboras, a Health Sciences student and co-op student at 11^th Street, hosted “R.E.A.C.H. for Your Heart.” The students educated attendees on ways to lower risk for cardiovascular disease. They introduced the women to exercises they can do at home and “simple, cheap, yummy recipes.” The Drexel students served freshly prepared fruit smoothies and even gave away resistance bands for home workouts.

Denise Way and Chadd Levine explored bone health in their Women’s Day of Health session on osteoporosis risk factors and prevention methods. Kylee Kimmel followed with her “Health Through the Ages” talk, covering topics related to changes women’s bodies undergo throughout the lifespan.

Lastly, Lindsay Edwards, the health center’s resident Dance Movement Therapist and Director of Creative Arts Therapies, welcomed women to “Dancing for the Soul,” a workshop during which participants tried several movement-based, creative experiences to “see how it betters your sense of health in the moment.” Any women who completed at least three of the sessions received a swag bag full of health promoting tools and literature.

The day concluded with “Love Your Body Chat and Chew,” an RSVP-only lunch discussion about practical ways to juggle self-care with the demands of daily life.