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Homer Steps Up Walking Challenge

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.

News & Updates

  • SPH to Open Homer’s Only Walk-In Urgent Care Clinic on June 1

    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.

  • Invitation to Bid

    South Peninsula Hospital seeks a qualified contractor for development of a gravel parking lot at 4135 Hohe St., Homer, AK. Work includes site prep, grading, drainage, and compacted gravel installation. The complete RFP can be found here or by request.  

  • End of Life Decision Making - recording now available

    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 Now Open for Walking Challenge

    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.

  • Welcome First Baby of 2026

    Baby girl River Marie Burdick was born on Sunday, January 4, 2026 at 3:55pm at South Peninsula Hospital, earning her the bragging rights of first baby delivered there in 2026. River weighed six pounds, 10 ounces, and was 19.5 inches in length. She is the first child of Amanda and Aaron Burdick of Homer, Alaska.

  • SPH Submits Letters of Interest to Rural Health Transformation Program

    South Peninsula Hospital recently submitted Letters of Interest to the State of Alaska Rural Health Transformation Program, a five-year federal grant program to improve health care in rural areas across all fifty states. These letters are the first round of submissions, and are some of nearly 1,800 which were submitted from locations across Alaska. We expect to learn sometime in April, 2026 if any of our submittals are invited to complete full applications.

  • SPH welcomes two new board members

    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.