Start! Program Encourages Workday Walks

by Stephanie CrosbyThe American Heart Association is kicking off a new program to encourage people to utilize breaks in their workday to get some exercise.The program is called Start! – it’s a walking initiative that encourages workers, especially those with sedentary jobs, to take walking breaks during the day. Kindred Healthcare is a participant in and a sponsor of the program. Senior vice president Sean Muldoon says his employees see the effects of sedentary lifestyles in their daily work.“They have suffered as a result of this," says Muldoon, "and when we look around to each other, to our employees, we don’t want to be in that same boat. There are things we can do, we can do it starting today, and that is simply to get off our duffs and get moving.”The program also kicks off a new walking path downtown. It begins at Fourth and Broadway, and continues through Fourth Street Live to Jefferson Street and back. The path is about a mile.