BINGO – Win with Wellness

When you play BINGO, you play to win, right? How about playing to win at wellness! That’s exactly what Riverwood Healthcare Center is inviting you to do. Play a wellness version of BINGO and move forward on the path toward a healthier you.

 All year long in 2012, Riverwood will invite its patients and local community members to participate in wellness activities through a brand new BINGO – Win with Wellness campaign. Each quarter, Riverwood will issue a new BINGO card, modeled after the original game board with 24 different wellness tips. The card will offer tips for healthy habits and behaviors—such as eat a healthy breakfast, go for a walk, and park far away.

 “Riverwood is strongly committed to supporting and empowering our patients and community members to improve their health,” explains Michael Hagen, Riverwood CEO.  “We think the BINGO wellness campaign offers a fun way for you to take small steps that are easy to add to your daily or weekly routine. The BINGO card is a flexible tool to keep those healthy habits visible. I’ve got mine posted on my refrigerator.”

 Community members will see the BINGO campaign promoted on an Aitkin billboard, hear wellness tips on the radio and see them in the local newspapers and online on Riverwood’s dedicated BINGO website and Facebook pages. Riverwood’s Healthy Living newsletter, which publishes six times a year, will carry personal wellness tips from family and internal medicine healthcare practitioners, patient stories on success adopting healthier habits, and in-depth articles on selected wellness topics. Sign up to receive Riverwood’s newsletter online with an email message to HealthyLiving@riverwoodhealthcare.org

 Getting your BINGO card

Wellness is more than eating healthy and exercise, it’s a state of mind. Small steps can change your health, so use the BINGO card to keep wellness on your mind.  Simply download a BINGO card at www.riverwoodhealthcare.com/bingo or pick one up at a Riverwood clinic in Aitkin, Garrison or McGregor.

 Post the card where you can see it daily, such as your refrigerator. This is a tool for you to use as you wish. Make your own rules. For example, encourage your family to work toward doing the activities for all four corners or all the B’s each week. Strive to do all 24 suggested activities—cover-all—each week or month.

 Look to the BINGO card, which will change each quarter, for wellness ideas.  Choose activities that are fun, convenient and easy to make part of your daily routine. Take the stairs when you can.  Dance for 10 minutes while fixing a meal.  Try a new fruit or vegetable. Whatever you do, keep it simple and keep moving forward on your wellness journey.

 Weekly wellness tips

Check Riverwood’s website and Facebook page for weekly BINGO wellness tips. This week’s tip is from Riverwood Nurse Practitioner Rebecca May:

Make FITNESS a priority!

  • Fit physical activity into your daily routine.
  • Establish an exercise plan with what, when and where.
  • Exercise 20-60 minutes daily.
  • Incorporate exercise into your daily activities; take the stairs or park further away.
  • Do something you enjoy that is convenient.

Prize incentives

Enter the quarterly drawings on the BINGO web page, or fill out a drawing slip at a Riverwood clinic, for a chance to win a major prize of $100-plus value or a variety of smaller prizes such as t-shirts, water bottles or other fitness-related items.

 With good health as the ultimate prize, everyone who plays BINGO – Win with Wellness has the potential to win.  For more information, visit www.riverwoodhealthcare.com/bingo

 If you want to learn more about using BINGO wellness activities at your school or workplace, contact Liz Dean, Riverwood PR & Marketing, at (218) 927-5555 or ldean@riverwoodhealthcare.org