Central Baptist Hospital has brought a new type of fitness facility to Lexington, one that it hopes will reinforce the hospital’s efforts to connect with the community through wellness opportunity and education.
“What you see is pretty much the end result of a 13- to 14-year vision,” said its director, Teresa Smith, as she gestured to the attractive and inviting fitness facility called HealthwoRx.
Located at the Mall at Lexington Green in the former site of a computer store, the HealthwoRx facility, which boasts more than 19,700 square feet, is the first of its kind among Central Baptist’s network of hospitals. Opened in January 2010, HealthwoRx is now averaging about 1,300 visits per week. Visitors are at all levels of fitness and equally divided between men and women.
The main room is filled with the treadmills, stair machines, elliptical trainers, various weight training machines and exercise bikes. Beside the array of free weights, enough kettleballs for a class are lined up. There are also BOSU half circles and plenty of fitness/stability balls.
In the back of the facility is a carpeted room for yoga, a spinning class room and a pure barre room. Its light flooring — the same as in the two exercise studios for group classes — adds to the airy, open feel of the facility.
HealthwoRx differs from the typical commercial gym or church fitness facility in several ways. There are no contracts required. Membership isn’t even required if someone just wants to pay for a class. Five sessions cost $35.
Membership for an individual is $30 per month. That charge includes full use of the facility and almost all classes, plus an initial fitness assessment and free consultation with a trainer anytime.
“This place is so nonthreatening, so low-key,” said Rhenda Denham, one of the certified trainers. “There’s always at least one trainer on the floor.”
Nurses are there to answer health questions, too, and there is a library with books on health that members can check out.
A person with health limitations or who is self conscious about being overweight or not knowing how to use exercise equipment can receive encouragement and support from the staff members. An experienced fitness buff can also benefit from the trainers’ suggestions for a more challenging and varied workout.
The senior citizen members may come initially because of health concerns, such as losing weight or managing diabetes, or they may want to continue their rehabilitation from a stroke or heart attack. Later, they may stay for the Silver Sneakers classes, a senior exercise program.
Aside from the typical hospital birthing and infant care classes, Central Baptist offers expectant mothers prenatal yoga classes and later, yoga with baby classes. Because more babies are born at Central Baptist than at other local hospitals, strengthening the connection with this marketing group is certainly logical.
For $1.50 per hour, parents can leave babies and children up to age 10 in the childcare center, mornings and evenings. There is also a complimentary coffee and snack area.
HealthwoRx is just the latest part of the wellness movement at Central Baptist. Smith, a registered dietician, was brought on board in July of 1995 to develop a community education department, she said. As community education director, she also oversees community outreach (health fairs, speakers, community health screenings), patient education (safe sitter and pediatric CPR classes, smoking cessation, cancer and diabetes support groups, etc.), and worksite wellness (evaluating and improving employees’ health).
In worksite wellness, teams of health workers screen and evaluate employees for various health issues. Then they meet with each employee to explain the results of the health screenings. The next stage involves suggestions for intervention strategies to reverse negative effects of smoking, obesity and other health problems. If the employer wishes, the Central Baptist team can also conduct wellness programs for the employees.
Employers can pay for the programs as a benefit to their employees. Often they can pass the costs on to their insurance companies. With an ongoing wellness program, the insurance company may be willing to lower its employee coverage rates.
Central Baptist also offers specialized cardiac rehabilitative programs that last eight to 12 weeks, both at the hospital and in Danville. Participants — usually heart attack victims — can continue to workout there or move on to HeartwoRx.
Program coordinator Amy Vittitow said that roughly 200 cardiac patients or former patients use the main hospital’s facility each week.
But no matter where they pursue wellness, she added, the goal is to restore and improve the quality of their lives.
“As people go through acute care, [wellness programs and classes] help them return to a new norm of health,” she said.