Now with 14 locations in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and South Carolina, acac Fitness & Wellness Centers was a pioneer in integrating healthcare. Owner Phil Wendel recognized a disconnect between healthcare and fitness and, with input from local healthcare providers, launched the Physician Referred Exercise Program (p.r.e.p.) in 2004.

The 60-day program invites physicians to refer patients for medically supervised exercise to prevent or manage chronic conditions such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and arthritis. Participants receive an initial health assessment, individualized exercise plan, ongoing coaching, and reassessments at 30 and 60 days.

“P.r.e.p. was formed to support healthcare providers who wanted to get their patients started on a safe exercise program," says Zack Lopez, M.P.H., senior director of medical wellness programming at acac. “Most of our participants come through a referral from their healthcare provider, but we also get self-referrals.”

To insure quality and safety, acac conducts ongoing outreach to physicians and has a medical advisory board whose members act as advocates among their colleagues and provide regular feedback on the program. Upon receiving a doctor’s referral, a p.r.e.p. medical fitness professional takes a medical history and biometric measurements and discusses the patient’s goals. The team then designs a customized program of cardiovascular exercise, resistance training, flexibility, and balance.

Among the medical fitness initiatives acac offers are:

• National Diabetes Prevention Program

• Maple Tree Cancer Survivorship Exercise Program

• Pedaling for Parkinson's

• Medical Nutrition Therapy for Type 2 diabetes and/or chronic kidney disease

• GLP-1 Weight Management training and health coaching

“We host weekly group exercise sessions and encourage participants to attend at least two of these per week,” Lopez adds. “They also have access to all amenities and group exercise classes.”

Acac communicates participant progress to healthcare providers using the Welld platform. Among the common outcomes are weight loss, reduced body fat and BMI, lower blood pressure, decreased waist circumference, and improvements in well-being based on the WHO-5 Scale (a self-report instrument measuring mental well-being, created by the World Health Organization).

Over the past two years, the program has received approximately 1,700 physician referrals annually across acac's five flagship clubs, resulting in roughly 1,220 enrollments each year. Roughly 40% of p.r.e.p. participants become members of acac.

Lopez describes p.r.e.p. as a loss leader, priced at $99, with membership conversions offsetting the program's operating costs. It’s worth the cost to help evolve the mutually beneficial relationship between healthcare providers and the fitness industry.

In the end, the biggest beneficiaries of this integration are the patients. Lopez says it’s important to check in with them often and adjust the program to their needs and abilities.

“Make sure your program isn’t intimidating, so participants feel welcome and are more likely to adopt regular exercise as true behavior change,” Lopez says.