Dr. Jennie Zheng

TYLER — For the first time, a Bullard physician will host a Walk with a Doc event in Tyler.

The Walk with a Doc concept is simple: Physicians organize walks in their communities and invite their patients, their patients’ families, and community members to join them. 

Dr. Jennie Zheng, physician UT Health East Texas Physicians- Bullard, will become the first physician in Bullard to host Walk with a Doc Texas at 10 a.m. this Saturday in Faulkner Park in Tyler.

Walkers will enjoy a refreshing and invigorating walk with Zheng and other healthcare professionals, who will provide support to participants and answer questions during the walk. Walk with a Doc Texas is overseen by a national nonprofit organization to get people active and healthy, and is backed by the Texas Medical Association (TMA) in Texas.

As walk leader, Zheng will lead these walks twice a month, or every other week, on Saturdays for one year, according to the Texas Medical Association.

For the first walk, the topic will be cholesterol. In the future, Zheng plans to cover topics such as mammograms, colon cancer and prostate cancer screenings.

Zheng started at UT Health East Texas in September. She learned about Walk with a Doc events in Tyler from their website.

“It’s important to build a relationship, whether it’s patients that I know or I don’t know, it’s kind of a meet and greet,” Zheng said. “And then we talk about a specific topic that we’ll be bringing some type of self-awareness to a medical problem or preventative talk.”

She is excited to lead her first walk and see patients who plan to attend. She will be giving away water bottles and a FitBit. They will meet at the walking nature trail entrance at Faulkner Park.

“Come out and meet other people,” Zheng said. “Especially if people are new to the area and you don’t know many people. I think it’s a good way to find community.”

Other Walk with a Doc events in East Texas

Tyler

• University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center hosts walks monthly on Wednesday at noon, alternating between UT Tyler main campus and the Health Science Center. The next walk will be on Dec. 20 at the Health Science Center. Future walks will be:
• Jan 17, 2024 at UT Tyler
• Feb 21, 2024 at Health Science Center
• March 20, 2024 at UT Tyler

• Dr. Marinel Munda leads walks monthly at Rose Rudman Park in Tyler. The next walk will be Saturday, Dec. 9 with Dr. Virgilio Gonzales, who is 100 years old, on the secrets of longevity. Future walks will be on Saturdays:
• Jan. 20, 2024 with Dr. Pauline Skowron about plantar fasciitis
• Feb. 17, 2024 with Dr. Becky Peebles about achilles tendonitis
• March 23, 2024 with Dr. Alex Wang about Medial Tibial Stress Syndrome
• April 20, 2024 with Jose Estrada, PhD, about ADHD
• May 18, 2024 with Dr. Katie Root about lifestyle medicine in preventing diseases

Longview

• Dr. Brenda Vozza leads walks the first Sunday of every month at Paul G Boorman Trail/Rice Park, 1505 Princeton Ave., at 3:30 p.m.