In a first for the ELIA Wellness Summit, a community health expo was held on Sabbath afternoon, May 17, offering free health screenings to the local public on the grounds of the Waitara PCYC (Sydney, NSW).
The ELIA Wellness Snapshot was an opportunity for summit attendees to connect with the wider community and promote health and wellbeing in practical ways. Free height, weight and BMI measurements, blood pressure and glucose checks, massages and medical consultations were offered, with dozens of people taking up the opportunity.
ELIA Wellness executive director Dr Geraldine Przybylko said the Snapshot was designed to give people an understanding of their general health. “With 9 out of 10 people dying from chronic disease and 1 in 5 people in Australia having mental health conditions it’s really important to get these health check-ups done on a regular basis,” she said.
Natalie Nawaikalou, one of the volunteers assisting with the screenings, said, “I just love it because it’s a way to engage with people and encourage them on a better journey for their health.”
Geua Raka, an attendee from the Tabubi Adventist Church in Papua New Guinea, described the experience as eye-opening. “This is my first experience of a public community engagement,” she said. “I find it more interesting engaging with the community and being a helping hand . . . it just makes sense (to see) what we do for the community and how we can help them . . . and how they can live a better life after these health checks.”
This year’s ELIA Wellness Summit, themed “Flourishing in a Challenging World”, was held May 16-18 at the Clinical Education Centre, Sydney Adventist Hospital. About 200 people from across the South Pacific attended the event, which brought together international and local speakers, along with representatives from the Mexican Union in Chiapas and their lifestyle centre, Centro de Vida Sana.
Attendees enjoyed plant-based meals, which were a fundraiser for the 10,000 Toes Campaign to support wellness hubs and adopt-a-wellness clinics. There were practical workshops and evidence-based presentations exploring how lifestyle medicine can prevent and reverse chronic and mental disease, foster healthy ageing and uplift spiritual wellbeing.
“It was refreshing to connect with attendees from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands at the ELIA Wellness Summit, while fundraising through smoothie sales from the Greater Sydney Conference (GSC) ELIA Wellness food truck,” said Dr Christiana Leimena- Lehn, GSC health director and ELIA research consultant.
”We were especially blessed to train volunteers from the Sydney and Auckland City wellness hubs on how to make and serve smoothies from the truck.”
New ELIA Wellness Hub branding was unveiled at the summit—created to unite and strengthen the network of wellness hubs across Australia and New Zealand. “This new branding is available to wellness hubs that hold an active ELIA Wellness Hub subscription, regularly run ELIA programs and community initiatives such as cooking classes, walking groups and wellness workshops, and are committed to guiding individuals on a journey to whole-person health through the ‘7 Dimensions of Wellness’,” said Dr Przybylko.
“Our goal is simple: to be the trusted place in every community for health, healing and hope. Let’s continue transforming lives—one hub, one heart, one healthy choice at a time.”
ELIA Wellness is an initiative of Adventist Health at the South Pacific Division. For more information on how to set up an ELIA Wellness Hub or use the ELIA clinical programs in your clinic contact partner@eliawellness.com
