A picture-perfect walk through a park with manmade lagoons, ducks and geese is the healthy way to spend an afternoon or lunch hour. It’s also a great way to wind down from a hectic day after work.

Lakeview Regional Medical Center broke ground Wednesday on a handicap accessible walking path around its campus that will entice everyone to better lifestyle habits that lead to better health.

The path will include a bridge over the lagoon to the park area and will meander through the peaceful setting just off U. S. Highway 190 and Fairway Drive in Mandeville. The friendly, quacking ducks, including a few mallard families, added to the festivities as Lakeview CEO Jason Cobb opened the ceremony. Cobb said recent studies show that “for every hour of exercise, you add two hours to your life.”

The Start! Heart Walk program was begun at the hospital in conjunction with the American Heart Association. Eric Evans, chief operating officer, said with the beautiful campus, it was natural to think about walking on it. Plans for the walk include a gazebo and a meditation or maze walk.

The hospital’s Well Club members were also on hand for the ground breaking.

Numbering 26 members, the group is composed of employees of the hospital that get together every day at 5 p.m. to walk around the campus.

They also meet every other Monday and stress good nutrition and physical exercise and act as a support team for each other with phone calls and e-mails.

Marlene Scariano with Cypress Lawn and Property Services, who maintain the grounds, designed the path with the layout by Martha Patterson. The path will be completed in phases, with the outer pathway included in the first phase. Solar panels will be installed to light the walkway at night.

Also on hand was Darby Berthelot of the American Heart Association. The AHA said 32 percent of all deaths in St. Tammany are a result of cardiovascular disease.

Groundbreaking for the path was held April 16 because it is the designated National Start! Walking Day by dedicating 30 minutes a day to walking.