Jay Mendes had become very familiar with the waiting room at The Miriam Hospital’s Men’s Health Center in Providence after going to countless appointments while undergoing treatment for prostate cancer.
But one day, a flier caught his attention.
It was touting a program called “Walk with a Doc.” Intrigued, Mendes snapped a picture right before he was escorted to an exam room.
During his appointment, Mendes asked his doctor, Dr. Mark Paulos, if he knew anything about the “Walk with a Doc” program. It turns out Paulos had led it. Soon enough, Mendes and his wife, Bonnie, found themselves walking with Paulos and others through Providence on a Saturday morning.
“Walk with a Doc” is a free social group where local physicians stroll with residents on Saturdays, getting exercise while also answering health-related questions from fellow walkers. It’s a national program with hundreds of groups across the country intended to be a way for people of all ages to move, be social and learn about health.
It has worked for Mendes.
“I needed a push to get off my butt,” said Mendes, 66, who is semi-retired and works as a school bus driver. “I knew I needed the exercise.”
Doctors usually lead the walks twice a month. And before they begin, a doctor will give a five- to 10-minute health lecture. The topics range from the benefits of eating pumpkin to preventing falls and staying balanced, to the prevention of heart disease.
Paulos, who now works for the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, started the Providence group in 2018, and it’s now led by two primary care physicians: Dr. Mariah Stump and Dr. Max Cohen.
Stump says Paulos invited her to attend “Walk with a Doc” in 2019, and she’s been going ever since.
“It was really, truly walking the walk with patients, and showing them how exercise benefits your physical health and your mental health,” Stump said. “So, it was really great seeing that in action.”
What do the walkers ask her about? “Anything and everything,” Stump said. From a quick examination of a bump on a walker’s finger to clarifying information that another walker read online, the doctors are there to answer questions in an easygoing atmosphere away from a doctor’s office.
This appealed to Sonia Rodriguez, who has been walking with the group for four years.
“The ability of just walking and just asking random questions to the doctor, to me, sounded very relaxing,” said Rodriguez, a Smithfield resident. “Every time I hear a talk, I learn something new.”
“Walk with a Doc” was started in 2005 by a cardiologist in Ohio with the goal of getting patients to become more physically active. Since then, it has grown to more than 500 groups across the nation and the globe.
Along with the group in Providence, there is one in Central Falls that was started last fall by Dr. Carla Martin, a professor at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School and a consultant with the R.I. Department of Health. Students at the medical school also attend the walks for both groups to boost their clinical education.
The Providence group usually begins at the corner of South Main and James streets, with walkers often donning colorful “Walk with a Doc” shirts. The group typically follows a route across the pedestrian bridge over the Providence River and into 195 District Park, the questions and answers coming along the way. The walkers then make their way along the riverfront, crossing back over the river on the Point Street Bridge. Next stop is India Point Park before returning to the starting point – a nearly 2-mile trek that can take 45 minutes to an hour to complete.
Stump says the walks also take place in Roger Williams Park or at Lippitt Memorial Park. The conversation often strays from health issues, with the participants remarking on seasonal changes or new buildings under construction along their route.
That’s the point. It’s a social exercise, with walkers getting to know each other while taking actions to improve their health.
“Instead of walking alone, now I have a group of people,” Stump said.
Indeed, both Rodriguez and Mendes – whose recent bloodwork shows he’s cancer-free – say they’ve connected with people they otherwise wouldn’t have met. Now Mendes often coordinates the Providence walks.
“At one time, I probably looked at it from a health point of view, and now I look at it as a way to get out to talk to people,” Mendes said.
UPDATE: Corrects name to Jay Mendes in first paragraph.
