Healthplex Associates: A Trailblazer in Health Promotion
Should exercise be prescribed as medicine? With those in the medical fitness industry emphatically advocating for it, the real question may lie in the collaboration and coordination required to effectively integrate exercise into healthcare practices.
Regular exercise helps to enhance health outcomes and lower risk factors, making it a crucial element in the prevention of chronic diseases. By being physically active, people can improve their general health and delay the onset of a number of chronic illnesses. Exercise interventions have been associated with a decrease in cardiovascular disease risk, a decrease in type 2 diabetes risk, a decrease in cancer risk, and a decrease in allcause mortality.
Healthplex Associates has been a trailblazer in population health efforts, leveraging the foundational work of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Medical Association's (AMA) Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) initiative. By establishing healthcare-provider referral networks and integrating electronic medical records (EMR), Healthplex Associates has been at the forefront of promoting the EIM concept.
For the concept of exercise as medicine to truly make an impact, a seamless collaboration must exist among all stakeholders in the continuum of care. This necessitates high communication and coordination between healthcare providers and exercise professionals. Only through established channels of communication can the benefits of exercise be effectively prescribed and integrated into patient care.
As we navigate the evolving landscape of healthcare, the importance of recognizing and promoting the role of exercise in preventing a managing chronic conditions cannot be understated. The integration of exercise prescription into healthcare practices requires a collaborative effort from all involved parties, with a focus on establishing effective communication channels and workflows.
Healthplex Associates, along with its Healthcare System partners, remains committed to championing the role of exercise as medicine and fostering collaboration between healthcare providers and exercise professionals. Together, we can work towards a future where exercise is not just a recommendation but a prescribed and integral component of healthcare.
By: Ryan Barr – Assistant Vice President
Meridian, Mississippi
THREEFOOT MILE 2024
April 19th Baptist-Anderson hosted our third annual Threefoot Mile. This is a one-mile, all-downhill race that begins at Baptist HealthplexAnderson and ends on the City Hall lawn in the middle of the Threefoot Festival, an arts festival that runs all weekend. Meridian has no shortage of 5K’s and fun runs so this race stands out being only one mile and starting at 6pm. The distance appeals to all fitness levels. Competitive runners can try for a personal record in the mile since the course is all downhill and on the flip side, the mile is a great distance for beginner runners/walkers and kids! Prizes were donated by two generous sponsors. The overall male and female winners each won a gift from Threefoot Blooms (a talented local florist) and a complimentary one-night stay at the Threefoot Hotel.
Odessa, Texas
31st National Senior Health & Fitness Day
Mission Fitness hosted the 31st Annual National Senior Health & Fitness Day on Wednesday, May 29th. This is an annual health and wellness event for older adults. The goal is to promote the importance of regular physical activity and healthy living in our older populations. Local senior living communities along with the adult population of Mission Fitness were invited to try new classes. Mission Fitness offered special Yoga and Aquatics classes in the morning, hosted a “Lunch and Learn” for healthy eating at noon, and introduced the new PWR! Moves class in the early afternoon. Each of the programs was geared towards our older populations providing new opportunities to exercise, introducing new classes, and dispelling the opinion that we need to slow down as we age. The Lunch N’ Learn was hosted by General Manager John Douthitt and provided healthy Tex-Mex options, a shopping list, and a weeklong eating plan based on the shopping list provided. “I love working with this age group because they have typically been misinformed about what they can do physically as they age. Answering their questions, dispelling common myths about exercise and aging, and providing them with the knowledge to keep moving and fueling their body efficiently is incredibly rewarding,” states John Douthitt.
SHAQUOLLE JOHNSON
Mission Fitness is proud to announce that Exercise Specialist Shaquolle Johnson recently completed her requirements for her Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science with a concentration in Physical Education. Shaquolle’s next steps are to achieve her personal trainer certification and expand her services at Mission Fitness. The facility has become a family affair for the Johnsons, as Shaquolle’s mother, Jerian, teaches Aqua Classes three nights a week. We are extremely proud of Shaquolle, as is her son Evan, and look forward to many great things from her in the future.
Waynesburg, Pennsylvania
2ND ANNUAL GOLF SCRAMBLE
EQT REC Center hosted its second golf scramble! Eight teams particpated on a beautiful day. The golf scramble allows EQT to raise money for the sports and rec department.
Dave Stoneking's team won the tournament, as well as bragging rights as they were the champions last year. There were multiple raffle baskets and great participation in the 50/50.
Indianapolis, Indiana
Unified Indoor Triathlon
The Indoor Triathlon at the
Indianapolis Healthplex on April 13th provided a controlled environment for athletes to compete in swimming, cycling, and running. Participants enjoyed a day of rigorous competition without outdoor weather disruptions. The triathlon event was inclusive, welcoming participants of all abilities,
Assistant General Manager, Aaron Anderson Guides Visually Impaired Athlete Around the Track During the Running Portion of the Indoor Triathlon. Pictured Below.
including both abled and disabled athletes. This created a sense of community and support, showcasing the accessibility and versatility of indoor triathlons. Participants could challenge themselves, enjoy camaraderie, and compete in a safe environment Promoting physical and mental challenges, personal achievement, and resilience, this proved to be a successful event catering to both beginners and seasoned athletes.
IHP Health Fair and Versiti Blood Drive
We are delighted to announce that our Health Fair on April 13th was a great achievement! Attendees gathered from 12-4pm to explore a world of health and wellness Riley Children's Health provided invaluable insights into pediatric care, while ICMH FIT Core's bone and muscle health programs inspired many to stay strong and active. Centers of Wellness for Urban Women empowered participants with strategies for holistic well-being, Versiti Blood Center of Indiana facilitated life- saving blood donations, and so many other vendors.
Thanks to our incredible attendees, we were able to collect 22 units of blood, potentially impacting 66 lives The event also raised $250 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, supporting critical research and patient services. Together, we celebrated health, supported our community, and made a real difference
IHP’S SUMMER OF FUN CAMP
Our Summer of Fun Camp kicked off with an adventure to Eagle Creek alongside Camp Town Indy. The campers were equipped with compasses and taught how to navigate with them. Putting their newfound skills to the test in the woods, they used the compass to locate group activities. After successfully completing each task, they eagerly moved on to the next challenge.
WORLD’S LARGEST SWIMMING LESSON
Children at the Summer of Fun camp joined the World’s Largest Swimming Lesson on June 20th, 2024, with global participation. Paired with instructors, campers learned swimming skills, water safety, and confidence. Upon completion, the summer campers received an orange bracelet that says “Swimming Lessons Save Lives”.
Offering Education and Resources to Members
Our members are increasingly interested in our complimentary workshops, with the Barbell Mastery and Active Aging Workshops drawing a significant number of participants in recent sessions.
The Active Aging Workshop Sessions (pictured above), guided by Amber Gehrke, provided participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to combat sarcopenia and maintain an active lifestyle. These sessions focused on enhancing strength and empowering attendees to stay active as they age, through engaging and informative presentations. The Barbell Mastery Workshops (pictured left) took place on June 12th, 19th, and 26th. These hands-on workshops allowed participants to delve deeper into specific lifts with barbells. Each session, held under the guidance of skilled fitness specialists, focused on mastering one particular lift, enabling attendees to refine their techniques and build strength in a safe and effective manner.
National Senior Health & Fitness Day
Members celebrated National Senior Health & Fitness Day with coffee, bagels, and balance exercises! Fitness Specialist Hannah May talked about balance and exercises that could help improve balance while participants enjoyed a complimentary breakfast. She provided attendees with a take-home balance resource sheet and answered any questions the members had.
Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania
The Center for Fitness and Health is extremely proud to have celebrated 20 years of improving the health of the community they serve! The staff had an amazing time celebrating with the members. The facility still has 55 charter members, many of whom visit daily. Each charter member received a complimentary month of dues as a thank you for their continued support!
Membership Director Kelly Schaeffer said, “Our community is extremely supportive and dedicated to their exercise routine. We are extremely proud to have them come to our facility and trust us with their health goals!”
BOOTCAMP AT THE BEACH
The Center for Fitness and Health hosted its inaugural Bootcamp at the Beach event on June 22nd at the Belle Vernon Area football stadium. Gold turf at Belle Vernon High School is reminiscent of sand on a beach, and thus Bootcamp at the Beach was born. The event had the 62 participants broken up into flights of 10-12 people, beginning at the entrance to the stadium.
After the workout, each participant received their t-shirt and 10 raffle tickets to use towards any of the 15 auction baskets that were graciously donated. After the auction baskets were handed out, the event finished with a 15 person pie-eating contest.
The event raised close to $2500 to purchase equipment to use towards future events. We look forward to hosting events like Bootcamp at the Beach in the future.
Montage Wellness Center - Marina celebrated its 13th anniversary in May 2024 and our Salinas facility celebrated its 8th anniversary. Both centers celebrated with a free guest week and multiple events. These events included health and wellness lectures, biometric screenings, and prize giveaways for participating. We had over 300 members partake in these events. The lectures included strength training, flexibility, mobility, and balance. The biometric screenings offered were BMI testing, Body Fat Percentage, Grip Strength, Blood Pressure, and Resting Heart Rate. Members were appreciative of these screenings and the information provided regarding the normative standards for each of these tests. Several members followed up with doctor visits, as they were not aware of some of the health risk factors that the health screenings revealed. We typically offer these types of screenings monthly to every new member joining our facilities.
Montage Wellness Center kicked off our 3rd year of sponsorship with our local professional soccer club by shooting a fun commercial with players, members, and staff. Montage Health is the official jersey sponsor for the Monterey Bay Football Club – (MBFC – Union). MBFC plays in the United States Soccer League –Championship Division.The commercial shoot took place at multiple facilities and the club stadium. There was no shortage of volunteers and everyone involved had a great time working with a professional film crew. The commercial airs on local television and during home soccer matches on the large stadium screen. It’s been a blast seeing members and staff faces on the big screen. It is great to see our members interacting daily with the players when they workout in the facility. Some members had never attended the soccer matches, but now have season tickets and feel like they are part of the team and Montage Health community.
El Dorado, Arkansas
Swim and Gym Summer Camp
Swim and Gym Summer camp has been actionpacked. In June, we had a blast with paddleboard exercises, exciting crafts, and fun So Bahk Do sessions. We also indulged in delicious snacks like rice crispy treats, juicy watermelon, and piping hot pizza.
Seeing all the energetic and enthusiastic faces of everyone, making new friends, and creating lasting memories, fills our hearts with joy. Thank you for attending our camp and making it a huge success! We are thrilled that the kids had a fantastic time, and we cannot wait for more adventures ahead.
We want to express our sincere gratitude to our team for their hard work and dedication to creating a fun and safe environment for all members. Guadalupe Paredes, Saxson Morgan, Jim Bennett, Isaiah Brown, Aaron Hopson, Christina Yutzy, Laylah Gaston, Diego Lopez, Abigail Hobbie, John Hobbie, Kevin Beeman, and Jace Hale. This summer has been an unforgettable experience for everyone!
“COOPERATION IS THE THOROUGH CONVICTION THAT NOBODY CAN GET THERE UNLESS EVERYBODY GETS THERE.” VIRGINIA BURDEN
Rock Steady Boxing Highlight: patients. The group has grown from 6 to over 20 members, emphasizing resilience and quality of life. They have boxing classes three times a week, with various exercises and equipment donated by the community. Additionally, they engage in group activities, showing strength and unity in their fight against Parkinson's.
Rhonda Sayers leads "The Warriors" at HealthWorks Fitness Center in Arkansas, who practice
Rock Steady Boxing for Parkinson's
ROCK STEADY
Membership Services Coordinator
Healthworks is excited to announce Jessica Benton as Membership Services Coordinator!
With a background in customer service and a proven track record of leadership, Jessica is more than ready to take on this role.
Graduating from Oak Grove High School in 2007, she went on to attend Eastern Medical College in Little Rock, Arkansas, graduating from the Medical Assistant program. With 8 years of experience in property management, Jessica brings a unique perspective to her role. Her passion for customer service shines through in her interaction with our members. Jessica's passion for her job shines through in every interaction, and she is always willing to go the extra mile to ensure our members receive top-notch service. Her infectious smile and unwavering work ethic make her a perfect fit for this position.
Pascagoula, Mississippi
Reagan Ringler, the Membership Services Coordinator at Singing River Healthplex presented the Wellness Center to the new employees of Singing River Health System during their weekly “debut day” orientation session.
DEBUT DAY
During this orientation, Reagan had the opportunity to provide a detailed overview of the Healthplex Wellness Center and discuss various services and amenities offered. Specifically, Reagan highlighted the special membership discounts available to all health system employees.
Access to such facilities not only promotes a healthy lifestyle but also fosters a sense of community among employees. As part of our commitment to employee well-being, Singing River Healthplex and Healthplex Associates encourage health system employees to take advantage of the services offered and consider becoming a member of the wellness center.
Summer Fitness for Youth
SBH Healthplex is thrilled to announce our Summer Fitness Program for local youth aged 14-18. This initiative will provide Bronx teens with an affordable way to stay active over the
summer but also aims to foster a sense of community and belonging among participants. Through mentorship, communitybased learning, and personalized fitness programming, our teens will learn how to achieve their fitness goals safely and develop healthy lifestyle habits that will last a lifetime. There are 50 fully subsidized spots available for the program. Program details:
1. Personal Training: Three 1-on-1 sessions with a personal trainer, including a Seca Assessment, a basic program design, and a 3-month workout plan.
2. Membership: Each participant will receive a three-month membership to our Fitness Center.
3. Rewards: To motivate and engage our participants, we are offering the opportunity to win American Express gift cards. Our commitment to this program extends beyond the summer. We are conducting pre- and post-assessment interviews to gather qualitative data that will help us refine and enhance the program in the future.
Valencia, California
In June we held a “Pound Master Class” for our community and members. Pound is a full-body cardio jam session inspired by the fun of playing drums Using light weight exercise drumsticks, it combines cardio, inspired strength training, and Pilates techniques into a sequence of exercises.
Member Engagement
We brought in Pound Director of Movement, Amber Bruehl, along with our very own group exercise instructor Bridgette Strong to lead 40+ participants through a Pound Rockout Workout. Members of all ages brought their friends in to sweat, sculpt, and drum their way to fitness
New Group Exercise Instructor Deidre Jaramillo joined the HMFH team! With her addition came three new classes to our group exercise schedule: Core & More; Fitness Fusion and You Can Dance Deidre’s 16 years of experience in the fitness industry is backed with her love for people, high energy and constant positivity
HENRY MAYO FITNESS AND HEALTH
Fitness Programs
Summertime is the beginning of all our sports performance programs! In our Performance Institute we run programs from June to August for four different age ranges: 8-11; 12-14, 1418 and 18+(college) We offer both 2-day a week and 3-day a week training options for these athletes in groups kept to a maximum of 15 athletes. Athletes that enter the Performance Institute are coached from the moment they enter to the moment they leave All of our programs focus on movement education, injury reduction through posture and motor control, acceleration and deceleration training, multi directional top speed and agility, explosive power, and proper functional strength training.
With the beginning of summer also came the conclusion of our spring Sports Outreach Programs With this program we partner with local high school teams and send one of our Certified Strength and Conditioning coaches out to run their training program This brings a resource to the local public schools that is often only available at private schools.
Thomaston, Georgia
Aquatics at URMC
Our Water Wellness class with Liz Jauden is a class designed for individuals with joint or musculoskeletal problems and for those preparing for or recovering from surgery. Slow, flowing, rhythmic moves help to get your blood flowing and ease joint and muscular pain. This is a low intensity class held in our therapy pool.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning is the single leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4, and it's one of the top causes of death for teens. But, did you know that swimming lessons can reduce the risk of childhood drowning by 88%?
Swim Lessons University Instructor, Madison Conlan, teaches students to feel comfortable in and around the water along with other valuable skills that will help them throughout their entire life. With both private and semiprivate lessons available, this summer is the perfect time for parents to bring their children in and equip them with life-saving skills.
Diabetes Lunch & Learn
Diabetes can be an overwhelming disease. In an effort to help the community address this complex issue, Matagorda Regional Medical Center
Wellness Center and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service of Matagorda County came together to host this year’s first of four Diabetes Lunch and Learns.
The session started with a light lunch that included samples of the recipes to be demoed. Participants learned about carbohydrates and were shown how to prepare healthy recipes for Hearty Two Bean Minestrone Soup and a Black Bean Cilantro Spread. These quick, easy recipes can help persons with type 2 diabetes enjoy tasty and satisfying foods.
Through this year’s series of Lunch and Learns, persons with type 2 diabetes will learn to break down the daily practice of managing diabetes to help control blood sugar and symptoms and feel better. This series is provided free of charge.
HPA Services
