Case study

CASE STUDY KINS 5433: HOSPITAL FITNESS CENTER 1

Case Study of Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst Euless Bedford’s Fitness Center

KINS 5433

1/25/18

Overview of Entity: Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital HEB Fitness Center is located on the hospital campus at 1616 Hospital Parkway Bedford, Texas 76022. Their contact information is as follows: 817-848-5600, Website-https://www.texashealth.org/heb/services/fitness-center/, and Facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/TexasHealthFitnessHEB. It is one of the nine Texas Health Resources’ Hospital owned fitness centers with a clinical whole health focus. Texas Health states that their mission is to “improve the health of the people in the communities we serve” (Resources, 2018). Each fitness center under THR has certified staff with a bachelors or master’s degree in kinesiology, nutrition, or nursing. The staff follows the chain of command and reports to a supervisor, who reports to a director, who reports to an administration officer assigned to that department. That officer then reports to the TRIAD which consists of a nursing officer, medical doctor officer, and president who all report to corporate. The HEB fitness center strives to provide a whole health facility with exercise experts, massage therapy, nutrition education, group exercise classes, NEAT cancer survivor program, LIFESTEPS weight management program, and Cardiac Rehabilitation. The website describes Texas Health Fitness Center HEB as a 13,000 sq. foot facility with more than 40 exercise classes, strength equipment, cardio equipment, free weights/ machines, free education classes, 12 TVs, locker rooms with towel service and toiletries, and a coffee bar lounge. Currently there are 15,000 individual and family memberships. Some members have been attending since it opened 30 years ago in 1987. Member retention may be because every member is treated as a unique individual and greeted as family. Each member receives four free individualized appointments with a fitness specialist upon enrollment and free reprogramming appointments as needed. The fitness specialist is responsible for identifying areas of improvement to help members reach their goals. They provide members with an individualized exercise prescription and guidance to the appropriate expert or class that will help the member. The motto at Texas Health HEB Fitness Center is “More Health, Less Club.” The culture is easy going, safe, and friendly. With CPR/ACLS certified staff and nurses within the facility patients are referred by their physician for cardiac rehabilitation, nutrition consults, massage therapy, and weight loss programming. We chose this entity because we have personally invested 5-10 years working for this clinical based fitness center and would like to increase memberships and revenue for our facility.

Vision & Ideology: Texas Health Fitness Center's FRESH AIR vision consists of three major concepts including Affordability, Innovation, and Reliability. Affordability includes providing the top care while being intelligent and unique in the exercise prescription process in a reasonable fashion that the community can benefit. Texas Health strives to provide the latest and greatest equipment and education making them the most innovative and trustworthy facility to gain maximum results for the money. Finally, Texas Health wants to ensure that their staff is paying attention to detail when caring for members. The reliability of Texas Health's fitness specialists is one of a kind. Consumers receive consistent care and one on one attention to their exercise experience. The Fresh Air initiative has been adopted by the leaders and employees of Texas Health as they strive to improve the health of the community they serve.

Mission/Purpose: Texas Health Fitness Center offers a "More Health Less Club" atmosphere. Members from the community, cardiac rehabilitation patients, hospital employees, and recovering cancer patients are able to improve their health in a caring and family environment. With the guidance of highly educated and CPR/ACLS certified fitness specialists and personal trainers, all members will receive four complimentary assessments and equipment orientations. During the assessment, factors like body fat percentage, girth measurements, basal metabolic rate, lean mass, imbalances, and BMI are addressed to ensure the member is on a healthy path to overall health. The Orientations are designed to create a challenging but beneficial way forward for strength training and cardiovascular endurance exercise. The purpose of Texas Health Fitness Center is "Caring for individuals of the community in which we serve.” All members of the community are invited to join Texas Health and experience a welcoming, un-intimidating, friendly environment to maximize their physical and mental health. 

Product Identification & Position: Hospital fitness centers market to the aging population, consumers interested in improving their health, and employers who are trying to reduce health care costs with prevention (Smith, 1996). Smith also stated that the, “survey showed that members of this age group (55 or older) rated the importance of a clinically trained staff, medical supervision, and hospital affiliation more highly than did members of younger age groups.” Since 1996 hospitals have been emphasizing cost containment by helping the community and their own employees with their health as a preventative method to reduce readmissions and insurance costs for employers. Hospital fitness centers also serve as a continuum of care with wellness programs that other gyms do not offer. At Texas Health HEB Fitness Center NEAT and Lifesteps are programs available for cancer survivors and those seeking behavioral treatment for obesity. The NEAT program is an exercise program for cancer survivors. Research has shown that physical activity benefits cancer survivors physiologically, psychologically, and socially (Sabiston & Brunet, 2011). According to Sabiston’s article, “The evidence suggests physical activity is associated with reduced rates of mortality, improved immune function, improved health-related quality of life, decreased fatigue, improved fitness, maintenance of healthy weight, and bone density, improved physical and psychological indicators of well-being, and that physical activity programs can foster social support and feelings of connectedness.” This is achieved with group exercise classes that promote strength, aerobic activity, and socialization. Lifesteps is a weight loss and lifestyle behavioral treatment program for obesity. It “helps patients identify cues that trigger inappropriate eating (and activity) and learn new responses to them. Treatment also seeks to reinforce (or reward) the adoption of positive behaviors” (Foster, Makris, & Bailer, 2005). At Texas Health HEB Fitness Center a registered dietician and fitness specialists guide the members through the behavior treatment by setting smart goals, help them identify how to change, advocate small changes at a time, and equip the members with problem-solving tools. Members in these specialized programs also have access to all the equipment, classes, and staff within the fitness center. Other behavioral change programs are limited to primarily counseling. HEB Fitness center strives to provide a whole health approach with education, nutrition, fitness, and stress management through massage & yoga. The fitness center is a resource for community members who are seeking a balanced lifestyle. Competitors like local city recreational centers and senior centers are usually larger, have a cheaper rate, pools, basketball courts, and newer equipment. Other general fitness centers compete with us by attracting a younger population with new equipment, juice bars, and cheap rates, but they also have members in binding contracts that are hard to break. These competitors do not require their staff to have the same education and training requirements as a hospital fitness center. Other popular specialized training programs like cross fit and orange theory have gained popularity, but may one day be labeled as a fad. Texas Health HEB fitness center has a new focus for 2018. They would like to maximize the space available by possibly renting equipment that has a dual purpose and smaller footprint, renovating the gym with new fresh paint colors, and provide functional movement programs to attract a younger population. Changes are difficult for hospital fitness centers because they must be approved by corporate and each facility is different in what they can offer. Baby boomers have been the primary market for many years, but as they are aging out HEB fitness center needs to reach out to the community more. They need to break the assumptions that you must be older, ill, or referred by a doctor to join. Many are just not aware that a fitness center with clinically trained staff is available to the community. It is important that the fitness center receives support from marketing at corporate, because they control it. As the focus, market, and fads change one thing that holds strong for Texas Health HEB fitness center is that the people matter the most. Building relationships, giving individualized care, and achieving goals will always keep the focus on “More Health, Less Club.”

References

Foster, G. D., Makris, A. P., & Bailer, B. A. (2005). Behavioral treatment of obesity. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 230S-5S.

Resources, T. H. (2018, January 1). Texas Health HEB. Retrieved January 25, 2018, from Fitness Center: https://www.texashealth.org/heb/services/fitness-center/

Sabiston, C. M., & Brunet, J. (2011). Reviewing the benefits of physical activity during cancer survivorship. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 6(2), 167-177.

Smith, T. (1996, Jul). Hospitals are using fitness centers to improve health status and lower costs. Health Care Strategic Management, 16-17.