PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Northern Light AR Gould Hospital will offer its last Walk with a Doc session for this year on Tuesday, Sept. 28, from 11 a.m. to noon at Mantle Lake Park. This month’s featured guest will be Bruce Alexander, MD, a popular retired provider.
“Dr. Alexander will speak briefly about the benefits of walking for your health and then walk and chat with participants on the paved loop around the park,” said Dawn Roberts, community health specialist at the hospital and organizer of the event.
“We are excited to have him join us. So many people were thrilled to see him when he was volunteering at our COVID vaccine clinics earlier this year that we felt people might enjoy a chance to see him in a more casual setting where they would have the opportunity to talk with him one-on-one.”
AR Gould Hospital began offering the national Walk with a Doc program locally in January 2020, but the program was sidelined for a while due to COVID-19 precautions. The hospital has offered the program outside during the past two summers as a safer option. As the weather is getting colder and with the spike in COVID cases, this offering of Walk with a Doc will be the last one for the year.
“While we have had the option of the Aroostook Center Mall as a rain location for our walks over the summer, we don’t feel that planning a regular indoor event over the winter months is the way to go at this time,” explained Roberts.
Walk with a Doc is free and open to the public. It is intended for people of all ages and physical abilities. Participants can walk at their own pace for whatever distance they choose. Masks are required, and one will be provided for those who need one.
