In their search to find restaurants that make healthy eating easy and delicious, the Wichita Dietetic Association presented the Positive Plate Award to Il Vicino Wood Oven Pizza on February 19th.

Il Vicino manager Dale Fagen, accepted the award. “Everything is freshly made from scratch every morning. We even have our own way to make our sausage ‘Italian’” he stated. “We offer two sizes of pizzas and salads, including several vegetarian pizza options.”

The restaurant offers a selection of premium wines, including their own private label wines which are specifically made to compliment their food. “Red wine has many benefits,” explains Jennifer Williams, another dietitian presenting the award. “Drinking wine in moderate amounts (no more than one 5–ounce glass per day for women and no more than two 5- ounce glasses a day for men) can offer some heart- healthy benefits by helping prevent LDL (or bad) cholesterol from forming.”

Il Vicino is kid-friendly. Each pizza can be customized to accommodate even the pickiest eater. For entertainment, children are given a small amount of dough which they can shape into their own special creation. Then they can take it to the oven to be baked – and of course – eaten.

“Pizza and salads can be a great choice for healthy eating,” proclaims Williams. “Tomatoes and tomato sauce provide vitamins A and C, and cheese is a good source of calcium. Lean meats provide protein, and the crust provides many B vitamins. The key, again, is moderation.”

The Sedgwick County Health Department is inviting everyone to walk at work in celebration of National Employee Health & Fitness Day, May 16th. Last year, over 2,000 people registered their participation and dozen won prizes for walking at work. Mark you calendar and watch for more information. If you want to lead a walk at your workplace, email health@sedgwick.gov.

The Health & Wellness Coalition supports the Visioneering Wichita Healthcare Alliance. Currently, only 48% of people in the metro area get recommended physical activity and only 18% eat five or more fruits and vegetables each day. The Coalition will be working with community partners for strategies to increase those percentages. To learn more about the Visioneering Wichita goals for 9 health indicators, click here.

The Visioneering Wichita Community Identity Alliance is a group of volunteers working together on our community’s image. The Alliance is interested in your opinions about the Wichita region. The survey will be online until March 12, 2007. The Alliance will use the responses to help guide its work and will report the results back to the community. You can take the survey by clicking on the share now button above.

The 3rd Annual Working Well Conference is a leadership summit for employers, human resources benefits managers, health plans, health services providers and government. The all day seminar will be on August 28th at the Airport Hilton.

Ron Z. Goetzel is the featured speaker. He is both the founding Director of the Cornell University Institute for Health and Productivity Studies and Vice President of Consulting and Applied Research at Thomson Medstat. Over the past 20 years, Dr. Goetzel’s work has focused on large-scale evaluations of health promotion, disease prevention, demand and disease management programs.

Watch for more information about how your company can apply for the Working Well Award!