MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — It’s lunchtime at Mon General, but hospital chaplain Ed Horvat isn’t thinking about the cafeteria.
He’s thinking cardio.
On Wednesday, April 2, Horvat laced up his walking shoes with a handful of other hospital employees to literally put one foot in front of the other for his health.
The group walked 2 miles around hospital grounds as part of National Walking Day, which was staged by the American Heart Association.
The state’s generally unhealthy climate is why, said Valerie Grimes, a division director with the organization.
Heart disease and stroke combines to kill some 6,000 West Virginians a year, she said.
Walking can take those numbers down, she said.
Horvat is pedestrian proof of that, he said.
Since the time he started walking, he’s lost 20 pounds and is no longer on a prescription for high cholesterol.