South Peninsula Hospital will sponsor several new community health and wellness programs starting in January.

They will be hosting free open walks every Monday at SPARC starting on Monday, Jan. 6 for all community members. Walks are scheduled to take place from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. The walk program will take place through May. SPARC is located at 600 Sterling Highway, next to the Homer Middle School in Homer.

SPH will provide a free educational program with Emilie Otis, physical therapy assistant, Jan. 13, at 11:45 a.m. The class will take place at SPH and Otis will discuss how to establish a safe and healthy walking structure as well as provide tips on injury prevention.

The hospital will also sponsor a five-week teen mindfulness course titled "Chaos Compass." The course will start Jan. 9 and run through Feb. 6 from 4:15-5:30 p.m. The instructor will be Devry Garity, pediatric nurse practitioner at Homer Medical Center. The event will take place at the Kachemak Bay Campus on Pioneer Avenue in Homer. The class is free. To learn more or register for this free class, contact [email protected] or call 907-235-0285.

In January , the hospital will also restart their wellness Wednesday series at KPC. The series includes a one-hour speaker presentation starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by a one-hour free community yoga event. The first talk for January will be presented by a provider from Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic and the topic will be cervical cancer screening and prevention. This will take place on Jan. 8. Yoga instructor for January will be Sarah Estabrook.