10,000 jumping jacks is Mercy Health objective

Mercy Health System employees will be jumping up and down -- literally -- as part of National Employee Health and Fitness Day May 18.

Within Mercy's four-state operations, Regional Marketing and Communication Specialist Media Relations-Mercy Central Communities Christina Rockhold said the objective is to do a million jumping jacks that day. For the Fort Scott hospital, the goal is 10,000 jumping jacks.

"They can be done in private (and) they can be done as a group," Rockhold said, adding they all have to be done in one day. "Our idea is to generate fun and excitement by doing (them) together."

Those not exercising in private will gather in Mercy cafeterias, parking lots, conference centers or lobbies. Coworkers will congregate at 8:30 a.m. throughout the facility's main corridors here, at 3 p.m. in the Health for Life parking lot and 9 p.m. at workstations. Announcements will be made to tell employees it's time to spring into action.

Staff members who might have limited mobility can do a modified jumping jack, Rockhold said.

"It should be a lot of fun to do that collectively," she said. "The idea is we want to get our coworkers moving. Along with coworkers and friends, it's going to be a lot more fun."

The million jumping jacks also ties in with Mercy's Healthification initiative, which is designed to encourage healthier, well-balanced lifestyles through nutrition, physical activity, emotional and spiritual wellness and smoking cessation, a news release said.

In addition to activities for National Employee Health and Fitness Day, a promotional rap video performed by M.C. Spookytooth is available for viewing on YouTube. The video features Mercy employees -- from surgical techs to radiologists -- performing jumping jacks to get ready for the Mercy Million. The video can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAuxu4jyMFQ.

"We chose jumping jacks because most Americans learn them as a child. They can also be modified so anyone with limited mobility can still participate. Just think, fitness legend Jack LaLanne did jumping jacks for years and lived to be 96," Vik Khanna, Mercy's executive director of health and wellness, said in the release.

All together, the jumping jack challenge will involve 38,000 co-workers across the four-state region.

"By enabling our co-workers to be better stewards of their most precious personal resource, their bodies, we can collectively become a stronger, more productive workforce," Khanna said. "We are at risk for serious health problems if we don't get a handle on some of our unhealthy habits. Mercy co-workers have the ability -- if provided the support -- to improve their overall fitness, greatly reducing their disease risks and improving the quality of their lives."