May 4, 2022
St. Peter’s Health is inviting the community to participate in the local health care system’s fourth annual HealthyWage 60-Day Step Challenge. Registration is open now. The challenge officially starts May 19 and ends on July 17. Thanks to participating sponsors Blue Cross Blue Shield of Montana and Wells Fargo, registration fees have been cut in half to $35 per person for the first 500 people who register. After 500 registrations are claimed, it costs $35 per month for two months, or $70 total per participant. Participants register first by downloading the Healthy Wage SmartPhone app and searching for “St. Peter’s Health Step Challenge”, entering in their information, and then connecting to a compatible tracking device. Compatible devices include FitBit, Garmin, AppleHealth (iPhone) or Google Fit (Android).
While teams of two to six are encouraged, you are competing against yourself. The goal is to increase your average number of steps by 25 percent if you have been using a compatible tracking device that has already tracked your 45-day step average. “For those who do not currently track their steps, your goal is to reach 10,000 steps on average each day,” says Jaime Larese, RDN, LN St. Peter’s Health Wellness Promoter. “This challenge is focused on competing against yourself and getting in as many steps as you can rather than competing against others. Although, if you’re a veteran of the challenge, competing against others is an added motivation to win.”
All registrants who successfully complete the challenge will win back their registration fee as well as additional funds from the overall “pot” of funding. St. Peter’s Health does not receive any funding from registrants. Instead, registration fees are placed into a pot of funding that is divided among participants who successfully reach their step goals.
According to St. Peter’s Obesity Medicine Specialist and past Step Challenge participant Dr. David Krainacker, adults should aim for at least 30 minutes of physical activity each day. “Walking is a good, low-impact option for most folks,” says Krainacker. “It’s great for your heart and lungs, improves muscle strength and endurance, and can help you reach your health and wellness goals.”
This is the third year that St. Peter’s has extended participation to the community in addition to friends and family of St. Peter’s employees. “Based on feedback, we moved up the dates of the challenge this year hoping to steer clear of the late-summer smoke and encourage greater participation,” says Larese. “Nice weather is just around the corner and participating in a community-wide challenge helps to keep getting in your daily steps at the forefront.”
Interested community members can register for the challenge by downloading the Healthy Wage SmartPhone app. Once the app is downloaded, they can search and register for the “St. Peter’s Health Step Challenge.” Questions can be directed to info@healthywage.com or by calling 888-636-3832. Learn more at sphealth.org/stepchallenge.
About St. Peter’s Health
St. Peter’s Health is a system of health care services including a 99-bed acute care hospital, physician clinics, cancer treatment center, behavioral health unit, urgent care clinics, home health and hospice care, dialysis center and ambulance services. St. Peter’s Health serves the Helena region and southwest Montana counties of Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, Jefferson, Meagher and Powell, with a combined population of approximately 97,000 residents. The mission of St. Peter’s Health is to partner with patients and the community to provide exceptional and compassionate health care. For more information, visit sphealth.org.