Additional Insights from Professionals on Medical Fitness

Power Wellness

Power Wellness provides a comprehensive framework including most notably a highly-trained, educated work force that receives ongoing development and training through a collaborative corporate network. Power Wellness markets and provides evidenced-based programming and collects program outcomes for participants, physicians and the client in aggregate. The centers are safe environments with the latest equipment and advanced technology that manage all aspects of members’ information including account data, health and fitness information and e-survey data with Net Promoter Scores. Power Wellness has a long-standing history of delivering excellence in health, fitness and wellness management through strong client and member care, listening, respect and engagement.

Medical fitness is defined as services that provide risk assessment, risk stratification and seek physician approval for participation, in addition to those that offer individualized exercise prescriptions to ensure a safe and effective plan is provided for an individual’s unique presentation. Medical fitness is an introduction or re-entry into the benefits of physical fitness, healthy eating and moderate living. Entry is often after a person who experiences an episodic, acute, or chronic health condition or event in which a healthcare provider indicates that increased activity will optimize or improve their current state of health.

The most common misperception concerning medical fitness is that medical fitness centers are for “patients” or “sick” people. People within our communities exist at various levels in the spectrum of physical fitness. Further, activity levels for each individual fluctuate throughout their life span. Some participants have very complex healthcare issues — either temporarily or permanently — that can be managed expertly as it relates to fitness assessment, exercise prescription and supervision. However, more common are participants on a precipice in which they need structure, guidance and the encouragement to empower lifestyle improvement.

We are a country whose people need to move more. A medical fitness center provides for members at any level of fitness — whether they’re a fitness novice, a participant healing from an injury, a moderate fitness enthusiast or an advanced athlete.

More people want to take charge and approach aging with independence and less risk for further or future injury or disease progression. Simply put, they need help getting it started, course correcting and maintaining the gain — these are the tenets of medical fitness.

Peg Bravo, RN, BSN MA is the Vice President Operations for Power Wellness and can be reached at pbravo@powerwellness.com or 630.570.2588.

Medical Fitness Association

The Medical Fitness Association is dedicated to providing education, benchmarking, networking opportunities, clinical integration strategies, clinical outcomes in the treatment of chronic disease with exercise and certification for facilities. We are also developing a new accredited industry credential in fitness facility management.

We define medically-integrated fitness as the incorporation of professionally-supervised fitness into the local healthcare continuum for influencing life-long lifestyle behaviors, population health management and treatment of chronic disease with exercise-as-medicine type programs.

Positioned as an extension of a physician’s office, medical fitness facilities can receive referrals from doctors, discharge planners and others to incorporate exercise as a pre or post-acute care regimen designed to improve the outcomes of patients. Members can expect medically-integrated and supervised services using highly-skilled, degreed, ancillary professionals to meet their individual needs using their personal health information, personal health risks and personal goals in conjunction with their primary care physician.

A common misperception about medical fitness centers is that you have to be a patient to go there. Another key fact is that most members of medical fitness centers have never been a member of a fitness club prior to joining. Medical fitness centers are great for this population, as everyone has to start somewhere and medical fitness centers work hard to make members feel comfortable, whether they’re struggling with their weight or preparing for their next Iron Man competition. By keeping doctors and medical fitness centers in the loop on a patient’s progress, we can help keep members healthier longer as they age.

More and more commercial clubs are looking for ways to take advantage of the aging population and get more involved with their local medical communities. The Medical Fitness Association can assist these clubs in learning how to position their facility to take advantage of these opportunities.

You can truly differentiate your health club from your competitors by earning the Medical Fitness Association Facility Certification. This process generally takes 18 to 24 months to prepare, so it is not easy, but it is worth it. Certification is the seal of approval you need to gain the attention of medical professionals as being a safe, trusted and reliable source for referral of their patients for exercise therapy. For information on how your facility can become certified, visit medicalfitness.org.

Robert D Boone, FACHE, FMFA is the President and CEO of Medical Fitness Association and can be reached at Bob.boone@medicalfitness.org or 804.897.5701.