Wellness walk honors past professor

Wellness walk honors past professor

April 27, 2018 LA GRANDE, Ore. –  Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Nursing in La Grande and Eastern Oregon University’s Wellness Program are gearing up for their fourth annual partnership event, which combines the Rita Monahan Walk-A-Thon and university wellness fair.

The Rita Monahan Wellness Event will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on Saturday, May 5 at Dorion Park, near the corner of Sixth Street and H Avenue. The public event is free and includes a 5K walk/run, regional health and wellness resources, raffle prizes, Delete Blood Cancer donor registration drive and fitness demonstrations. Registration for the 5K costs $20 for community members and $15 for students.

This will be the 18th annual event honoring OHSU professor Rita Monahan, who motivated and encouraged her students to excel. Before her passing in 1999 from colon cancer, Rita requested that a scholarship fund be created in her memory, to help cover the cost of students’ nursing licensure examination.

Her husband Greg Monahan, an EOU professor emeritus, will match up to $1,500 in donations made to the Rita Monahan Scholarship this year. Contributions are tax deductible and the tax ID number will be mailed to donors from the EOU Foundation office once the donation has been processed.

Donations are accepted online at eou.edu/wellness-payment via the EOU Foundation.

Registration forms for the 5K walk/run are available at eou.edu/wellness-form and at 9:30 a.m. the day of the event.

For more information contact Elena Baird, Rita Monahan Wellness Event liaison, at bairel@ohsu.edu or Kylie Lanman, EOU wellness coordinator, at klanman@eou.edu.