Monday night, February 22, NMC’s Courtyard Café was filled with colorful activity, but it wasn’t the usual dinner time crowd. That night, the hospital hosted a guided painting lesson paired with a preventive screening opportunity for the women who attended.

Artist Claire Payne led the 18 attendees step-by-step as they sat behind table top easels in the café. As the evening went on, painters could get up to enjoy refreshments, and step out to participate in a screening mammogram.

Coupling a wellness program with an artistic event might at first seem odd, but NMC’s Breast Care Nurse Navigator Mulheron said the idea was to encourage participants to pause to relax, and to be thoughtful about taking care of themselves, a valuable lesson in today’s hectic world.

“We were thrilled with the turnout and loved seeing the enthusiasm of everyone who attended,” Mulheron said. The Café, with its atrium ceiling allowing natural light, was a well-chosen spot for the event.

Paint and Prevent cost attendees $35, plus the cost of their mammogram, if they chose to have one. Most insurance programs cover the cost of a mammogram, so long as it has been over one year since the last screening.

Mulheron said NMC was pleased with the event’s success and is planning for another in the future. For more information about the event or about preventive health screenings, contact the Community Relations office at 524-1239.