Homer Steps Up! is an annual community walking challenge held every May on the Southern Kenai Peninsula. Organized by South Peninsula Hospital with support from several partners, the event aims to promote community health and engagement through walking.
Learn more and register at www.homerstepsup.com.
Details
We use the Wellbeing+ platform to host the challenge, which allows participants to sync their steps tracked by a wearable fitness tracker or smartphone. Participants can also enter their steps manually if they prefer to use a pedometer.
Team Competition
Teams of 5+ members compete based on the cumulative average of their members’ steps, rather than total sum. The top team wins bragging rights and has its name engraved on a traveling trophy. Most importantly, they also win prize money in increments of $500, $300, and $100 to donate to a local non-profit of their choice!
Individual Prizes
Participants who maintain a daily step average of 7,500+ are eligible for weekly drawings of $50 in Homer Bucks.
Community Support
The event is supported by a grant from the South Peninsula Hospital Foundation, which enables the cash prizes and incentives. Additional sponsorship comes from the City of Homer, South Peninsula Behavioral Health, SPARC, and SVT Health & Wellness.
End of Challenge Celebration
In the first week of June, all participants are invited to an awards event to celebrate the achievements of participants and teams.
The 50th annual Annual Homer Spit Run, which consists of the 10k to the Bay, Cosmic Hamlet Half
Marathon, and the 1 Mile Youth (Kids and Family) Run, will be held on Saturday, June 27th.
Registration is open online for both timed races at KachemakBayRunningClub.org, and these races
benefit local youth running programs.
South Peninsula Hospital is expanding access to same-day care with the opening of a walk-in Urgent Care clinic on June 1. Located at 4201 Bartlett Street, in the same building as the Family Care Clinic, Urgent Care will be open Monday through Saturday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. No appointments are necessary, and patients will have access to on-site labs and X-rays. Urgent Care will be staffed by Carrie Warren, FNP-C, who is moving from the Family Care team, and Kara Zimmerman, PA-C, who recently moved to Homer.
Thank you to the many community members who attended our free educational presentation, “End of Life Decision Making,” this spring! This event was originally scheduled for Fall 2025, and we appreciate everyone’s flexibility with the rescheduling. We were honored to have Homer Medical Center’s Dr. Giulia Tortora, local estate planning attorney Lindsay Wolter, and Hospice of Homer death doula Morgan Laffert lead this important conversation. Together, they covered key aspects of end-of-life planning, including living wills, medical power of attorney, legal and medical decision-making, and emotional considerations.
Registration for the 10th annual Homer Steps Up community walking challenge (May 4 -31) opens April 15 on HomerStepsUp.com. Coordinated by South Peninsula Hospital, with support from numerous partnering agencies, the yearly challenge is designed to motivate the community to engage in more movement to help improve overall health as well as provide a fun, interactive community event as Homer transitions into summer.
South Peninsula Hospital Board of Directors appointed two new members to the board and elected new officers at their December, 2025 board meeting. Jim Anderson and Ken Ciccoli, both of Homer, are newly appointed to three-year terms.
