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Medical fitness centers help with chronic health conditions

Skagit Valley Herald - 1/26/2020

Jan. 26--MOUNT VERNON -- At first glance, Urban Fitness and Health in Mount Vernon feels like a normal gym. But the center offers more than just exercise machines and classes.

In one room, a personal trainer works with a client on a plan to lose weight to treat diabetes. In another, clients with Parkinson's disease take part in a kickboxing class.

The facility is a medical fitness center. Co-owner Don Labourr said the center's focus is on helping those at risk of chronic conditions while addressing rising health care costs.

"We rank highest in the world for many risk factors," he said. "We've got a lot of healthy people exercising, but we don't have a lot of people at risk that are exercising or taking care of their problems."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, chronic diseases are responsible for 7 out of 10 deaths of Americans, and account for 90% of the country's $3.5 trillion in annual health care costs.

A resource to medical providers

Labourr and co-owner Bill Northey bought the fitness center, at the time called Urban Fitness, in 2017 with the goal to transition it to a medical fitness center. The business slowly started adding health services in 2018, Labourr said.

He said the hope is to work with area doctors and providers in referring patients to the fitness center.

As part of a $34 monthly membership fee, clients get two free sessions with a personal trainer to discuss their fitness goals and evaluate body-fat percentage, balance, flexibility, strength, heart rate and other measurements. Also included is a monthly follow-up assessment, injury screening, and nutrition assessment.

"(Doctors) don't have time to do that with clients," Northey said. "If we can be that resource and unburden them, that would be the dream."

The fitness center's Foundations class is offered to those with Parkinson's disease or other neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis, to improve balance and help prevent falls. There is also physical therapy, massage and a medical weight management program.

Bariatric/metabolic surgeon Rob Landerholm, the fitness center's medical director, said medical fitness centers such as Urban Fitness and Health could help a person at risk for a chronic disease catch the problem early and treat it -- saving a trip to the emergency room and expensive bill.

He said that represents a shift in the health care system.

"So much of medicine is treatment on the back end -- you have it and we'll take care of it," Landerholm said.

Glen Harris, a radio host for KBRC, recently joined the fitness center as part of a fitness challenge with a KAPS radio host. Harris, who has type 2 diabetes, said becoming a member will help him stay proactive in treating his condition.

"A key factor in diabetes is weight," he said. "The more weight I lose, the fewer meds I have to take in the long run."

A welcoming place

It can be intimidating for older people, those with medical conditions or those who are overweight to join a fitness center, said Robyn Stuhr, vice president of Exercise is Medicine, a nonprofit health initiative of the American College of Sports Medicine.

"They're not sure who is going to be in the fitness center to help them," she said. "They're afraid they're going to have to join a boot camp."

She said what distinguishes medical fitness centers from normal gyms is the supportive environment.

"(Medical fitness centers) are meant to be a welcoming place with more professional guidance, and staff makes a concerted effort to communicate with providers," she said.

Labourr said there are requirements to be a medical fitness center. According to the Medical Fitness Association, those include active and regular medical oversight, health-risk reduction and therapeutic-lifestyle programs, individualized health screening, testing and outcome tracking, a focus on measurable results, and improving community health.

He said the fitness center has sent personal trainers to seminars so they can teach classes on fall prevention for clients with Parkinson's.

Sue White of Mount Vernon was diagnosed with Parkinson's -- a progressive disorder in the brain that affects balance and the ability to walk -- 26 years ago.

White goes to the fitness center five days a week, and takes the center's Foundations class, which includes kickboxing, three times a week. She said the class helps strengthens her brain's connection to her muscles.

"I probably wouldn't be as active as I am (without the classes)," she said. "It gives me a feeling of satisfaction knowing I'm doing something good for me and it's going to help slow the progression of the disease."

Fitness center member Erica Peel of Mount Vernon recently celebrated the two-year anniversary of going into remission for kidney cancer. Since joining the fitness center, she has lost about 100 pounds, she said.

"I really needed to make a life change," she said. "I wanted to lower my chance of getting cancer again."

She said she works with a nutritional counselor at the fitness center -- available for an additional fee -- who helps her avoid high-protein foods to lower her risk.

Medical fitness centers include both privately operated facilities such as Urban Fitness and Health and those connected to hospitals.

Mark Pearson, manager of United General District 304'sUnited Fitness Center in Sedro-Woolley, said the district's center was the first in the state to be certified by the Medical Fitness Association, though it no longer maintains the certification due to the cost.

He said physicians refer patients to the center to work on specific issues and lower their risk for chronic conditions.

"Our (fitness center) has taken 20 years to develop," he said. "Networking is really critical and takes time, and you have to instill the trust with the doctors that this is a safe place to refer (patients) to."

Incentives to stay healthy

Labourr said more health insurance plans should offer incentives for people to take care of themselves, such as a reduction in monthly premiums based on a health assessment.

"(People) would be incentivized to lower their risk factors," he said.

Stuhr of Exercise is Medicine said the Affordable Care Act created financial incentives for hospitals and doctors to put more focus on preventative care.

"Up until recently, doctors and hospitals were paid for how many things they do to you -- the more surgeries, X-rays, and patients they see, that's how they make money," she said. "There's not an incentive to keep people healthy. Now employers, hospitals and health plans get a limited amount of money to take care of patients, and (look for) an economical way to promote health."

She said a proposed bill in Congress would allow Americans to use pretax health savings accounts for fitness-related services, including gym memberships.

-- Reporter Jacqueline Allison: jallison@skagitpublishing.com, 360-416-2145, Twitter: @Jacqueline_SVH

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