Eastern Long Island Hospital is asking residents to walk toward a healthier lifestyle.
To kick off the 2015 CARE Campaign, the annual appeal for ELIH, Paul J. Connor III, president and CEO of ELIH, is asking participants to pledge to walk 10,000 steps regularly in honor of the hospital’s 110-year anniversary in 2015 — or to donate to the annual appeal.
“The 2015 Annual Appeal celebrates all we’ve accomplished together. Let’s kick it off by setting a goal for a healthier community,” Connor said.
Explaining the Fitness Challenge, Connor said, “Just like the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, the Fitness Challenge is tied to fundraising.” Connor noted that, as recommended in a study reported in Sports Medicine, January, 2004, the number of steps needed for a healthy active lifestyle is 10,000 per day. A sedentary person averages 1,000 to 3,000 steps daily.
As part of the new campaign, Connor asked others to pledge to take 10,000 steps a day, video their first 10 steps, post their video to Facebook and challenge three others to do the same or donate to the 2015 CARE Campaign. The goal to reach 110 participants was accomplished by December 2, Giving Tuesday. Those who uploaded a video won a free pedometer. Jill Schroeder of JABS in Cutchogue, a participating Fitness Challenge partner, and her group completed a total of 1,376,211 steps and raised $1,000 for ELIH during the month of November.
For Connor, exercise is a part of an everyday routine aimed at staying fit and maintaining a positive mental attitude. “The endorphins released when I exercise, keep me feeling upbeat,” he said.
In October, Connor and his friend and ELIH chief radiologist Anthony Mitarontondo, MD, embarked upon a 19,341 foot climb up Africa’s highest peak, Mt This October, Connor began a 19,341 ft. climb up Africa’s highest peak, Mt. Kilimanjaro; he made the trek in six days, taking at least 10,000 steps a day.
ELIH plans to extend the Fitness Challenge through the coming year and said Mark Miller, a resident of Southold and owner of Miller Environmental, has made a pledge to donate one dollar for every foot climbed on Equador’s two highest peaks with his son, Evan, this coming January.
