Making Memphis healthier one neighborhood at a time
Whitehaven community members take part in ShelbyCares free chair aerobics class at Riverside Baptist Church on May 5. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)
Since ShelbyCares opened its first neighborhood health hub in May 2023, Penny Ward has dropped about 100 pounds, stopped taking two medications and seen her blood pressure and blood sugar numbers drop to their lowest in decades.
“My primary care doctor told me to keep doing what I’m doing,” she said.
Ward, 61, walks the short distance from her Westwood home to ShelbyCares on 3rd at 3358 S. Third Street where she meets with a specially trained health coach who supports her goals through screenings, healthy eating and exercise strategies.
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ShelbyCares UTHSC Dr. Jim Bailey Shelby County Commissioner Charlie Caswell Subscriber OnlyThank you for being a subscriber to The Daily Memphian. Your support is critical.
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Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki covers health care, banking and finance, technology and professions. After launching her career in news two decades ago, she worked in public relations for almost a decade before returning to journalism in 2022.
As a health care reporter, she’s collaborated with The Carter Center, earned awards from the Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalists and won a 2024 Tennessee Press Association first-place prize for her series on discrepancies in Shelby County life expectancy by ZIP code.
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