LAKEPORT, Calif. – The Sutter Lakeside Hospital Foundation Board is sponsoring its inaugural 5K/10K walk/run on Saturday, Oct. 15, at 8 a.m.

It begins and ends at the hospital’s Healing Gardens, 5176 Hill Road East, and winds through the scenic Hill Road/North Lakeport loop.

The foundation has partnered with Sutter Health in a matching grant campaign to raise funds to construct an OUTDOOR Mobility Park.

The 12,600 square foot park will reside on the hospital campus and give patients the opportunity to safely relearn everyday skills such as walking on curbs, stairways, gravel, sand, bark and slippery or uneven surfaces; entering and exiting their own automobiles; using common tools for cleaning and gardening; and using exercise and sports courts for strength, flexibility and cardiovascular fitness.

“The Sutter Lakeside Rehabilitation Mobility Park will help our patients acquire the strength, skills and confidence to move about the community and live a full life, as independently as possible,” said Paul Axtell, M.D., Director of Orthopedics at Sutter Lakeside Hospital.

It is projected that the park will serve approximately 5,200 patients annually of a wide variety of ages and can be an effective form of transitional rehabilitation for injury/illness recovery, including total joint replacements, neurological injuries (stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease), balance disorders, trauma/sports related injuries (traumatic brain injury, fractures/sprains) and sensory depriving disorders such a neuropathy and spinal cord injuries.

The entry fee is $25 and the proceeds will benefit the Mobility Park Campaign.

Participants will receive an event T-shirt and goodie bag on a first come/first serve basis. All registration forms will be entered into a drawing to win prizes. You must be present to win. Sponsorship opportunities are available and include generous advertising benefits.

For more information call 707-262-5189 or to watch a KTVU Channel Two News feature story on the Rehabilitation Park, visit http://www.sutterlakeside.org/giving/mobilitypark.html.

Registration forms are available on the main page of the hospital Web site at www.sutterlakeside.org.