Partnerships at Work
park district + hospital
by Lynn Juniel
Fitness has graduated. It is no longer seen as merely a
means of attaining a shapely exterior. Documented studies
of the long-term benefits of exercise have made fitness the
newest prescription for a healthy interior. This widespread
knowledge has spawned a booming industry—health and
wellness centers. In-house fitness facilities at hospitals are
becoming commonplace. And, according to the International Health
Racquet and Sports Club Association, 68 percent of member clubs
have existing ventures with healthcare providers or insurance
companies.
Can a governmental unit, such as a park district, cashin on this latest craze?
Are healthcare partnerships properfor such entities and can they be profitable?
If you build it, will they pay to come? The answers, at least for
Homewood-Flossmoor Park District, are yes, yes, yes and yes!
Homewood-Flossmoor (H-F) is in the final stages of a 4.2 million dollar renovation and upgrade of its existing health and racquet club. Partnering in and helping to make possible the expansion has been Ingalls Health System, a leading hospitaland healthcare provider. The new H-F Racquet & Fitness Clubwill feature 14,000 square feet of fitness space stocked with thelatest in fitness equipment, a cushioned running/walking track, expanded locker areas, a masseuse room, new aerobic danceroom, plus ten satin-turf tennis courts, three racquetball courts,a water fitness center. Kids Kourt Child Care Area and a new 40-Love Lounge and Sports Style Shop. Ingalls Wellness Center, a 6,500 square foot area adjacent to the fitness center, will offer Sports Medicine, physical therapy. Phase III Cardiac Rehabilitation and health education classes. The Racquet & Fitness Club's long list of amenities will make it one of the most fully equipped, state-of-the-art clubs in the area and the only club to provide the range of health services that Ingalls will bring to the mix.
In 1992, the park district and its residents became eager to expand once more. An evaluation by an outside consultant confirmed information gathered from an earlier community Attitude and Interest Study and observations of the staff—the racquet club, in its current state, was too small to handle the growing health and fitness needs of the community. With an eye to the future needs of its residents, the park district began to investigate the pros and cons of pursuing a health and fitness partnership. The idea of partnering with a health provider had been broached in 1985, when the club underwent its second major expansion project. At that time interest was low. but anecdotal evidence suggested that the time was ripe to revisit the idea. The Elmhurst Park District/Hospital partnership—one of the first in the Chicagoland area—was a documented success. At the "Gateway 2000" conference H-F director of parks and recreation Greg Meyer had been intrigued
40 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * March/April 1996 by the call for park districts to adopt a holistic approach in providing service to the community by building relationships with schools, hospitals and village government. And at the club there was growing interest from members and the medical professionals in health screening and education programs. Says H-F Racquet & Fitness Club manager Mark McKinnon, "We knew that the marriage of hospital provider and health club was a natural."
The Search for a Partner
The park district proceeded with its goal of finding a hospital partner
able to help finance the expansion project and provide the health services
the club and its members desired. In February of 1993, a feasibility study
on the fitness center expansion was presented to the park board.
In March, proposals were solicited from area hospitals. This time interest
in the partnership was tremendous. Five area hospitals and an Indiana
hospital responded to the park district's request
"I felt like I was the NFL negotiating TV rights," says Meyer. "The hospitals realized the project's vast appeal. They knew this was an emerging trend in the health industry and were eager to jump on the bandwagon." The Racquet & Fitness Club itself had much to bring to the deal. The club had a large and desirable clientele and was located on a major thoroughfare, ensuring exposure and easy patient access for the hospital partner. The club's impressive financial picture also may have played a critical role in attracting potential partners. Homewood-Flossmoor's Racquet & Fitness Club is the only park district in the Chicago area to generate enough income and operate completely independent of tax dollars. In fact, the club's historical function had been to produce revenue to fund other park district programs. Original development and expansions were financed through revenue bonds and contract installment payments. The current expansion would be funded by a contract purchase backed by general obligation bonds. After a yearlong review process and intense negotiations, Ingalls Health System was chosen as the park district's partner in the new joint venture. Ingalls not only presented an outstanding proposal, but was able to show a record of success. A front-runner in providing outpatient services, Ingalls had for years presented workshops and health screenings at the club. Ingalls was also skilled at operating off-campus facilities, having opened three community based Family Care Centers and a Center for Outpatient Rehabilitation over the past decade. As the club's new wellness partner, Ingalls signed on for a 10-year journey with the park district. Ingalls agreed to cover all construction costs related to their 6,500 square foot Wellness Center and pay the park district a user fee for license to use the space. Ingalls also agreed to hourly fees for the use of the fitness floor for cardiac rehabilitation classes and to make substantial contributions to cover maintenance of the building's common areas and fitness equipment. In return, the park district agreed to designate 1,000 square feetof the fitness floor for cardiac rehabilitation classes and construct a 4.2 million dollar addition to the existing Racquet & Fitness Club. Robert Mulcahey, Ingalls Health System vice president for corporate affairs, shares the hospital's view of the partnership."Ingalls saw the venture as a natural combination of its own strategic plan and H-F's plans. We were looking for opportunities to increase the community's access to wellness and prevention in general. A significant part of our mission is to serve the community through outreach programs. We believe that if people don't have access to health services they won't use them. Also, our emphasis on addressing health status over diseasetreatment was growing. There has been a shift toward preventive medicine—keeping people healthy as opposed to seeing them only when they become seriously ill. Lower cost, community based outpatient facilities are where the health industry is headed, and where Ingalls had already begun to make inroads. The partnership presented a great opportunity too for us
In anticipation of the opening of Ingalls Wellness
Center, the hospital's Cardiac Fitness Center coordinator Margaret
Ojermark leads a group of Phase III cardiac rehabilitation
patients on a tour of their new home at the
Homewood-Flossmoor Racquet & Fitness Club.
Illinois Parks & Recreation * March/April 1996 * 41 to establish a permanent location in the community for our health and wellness activities." Mulcahey also mentioned another important factor in the hospitals decision-making process—location. The Homewood-Flossmoor area is one of the hospital's key communities and the club is located in a strategic location. "Improving patient access to our services was the main selling point. We are always seeking ways to improve the delivery of healthcare services to the community."
Value Added Appeal—The Ingalls Connection
The services Ingalls will bring to the partnership will help
to make the new H-F Racquet & Fitness Club and Ingalls Wellness
Center a facility unrivaled by any other in the area. Most
important, according to Mulcahey, will be "direct access to
healthcare professionals for more people. Our professionals have
valuable information to share that can help people look at their
lives, examine how they're taking care of themselves and evaluate the
changes they can make to improve the overall quality oftheir life."
Phase III Cardiac Fitness, a personalized program of monitored exercise for patients who have had heart attacks, heartsurgery or who suffer from heart disease will be one of the first programs to move to the new facility. "Space is at a premium in our current outpatient facilities, so there has been no place to conduct a controlled exercise program," says Mulcahey. "We've had to limit ourselves to seeing those who have a history of heart disease. Really, we want to catch people before they have heart problems. In our new space we will be able to focus on the growing segment of the population that have been diagnosed as having the potential to develop cardiac problems and get them into a monitored exercise program to reduce their risks."
Physical therapy, sports medicine and Heart Source screenings
will also be offered on site. And again, access is the key. Ingalls' physical therapists
and sports medicine doctors will be
available to educate individuals on lower back pain—the most
common medical problem in the country—as well as sports
related injuries. In addition an extensive, year round schedule
of health education programs will be presented in the Wellness
Center. Classes will be offered on everything from stress management,
smoking cessation and nutrition to Lamaze classes
for expectant parents and special interest programs for seniors.
Adds McKinnon, "It was important to make club members and residents realize that without Ingalls, there would be no expansion project. The partnership enabled the club to keep membership costs reasonable. Our rates remain inexpensive and below market rate for the services we offer." Since opening of the fitness center in December of 1995, members' exhortations of "too expensive" have changed to"wow, what a great value." With only half the construction complete, The Racquet & Fitness Club has booked almost 1,000 more memberships than it did in the previous year.
Robert Mulcahey, vice president of corporate affairs for Ingalls advises potential partners to get to know each other. "Make sure you know what your needs are and that your philosophy and the philosophy of your partner are in line. It's a long-term commitment. You'llbe intimately involved. Both Ingalls and H-F have done a good job in this respect so far."
42 * Illinois Parks & Recreation * March/April 1996 Though at the time of writing this article, Ingalls has notyet moved into its space (scheduled for April 1996), it has definite plans for the future. "This is a long-term project for us,"says Mulcahey. "We are using the center as a model. We'll use information from health assessments to develop programs that will improve an individual's general health status. In ten years, we would like to show a marked improvement in the health status of the H-F community." Both partners are also exploring ways to enhance the collaboration. Joint planning committees have paved the way for creation of Medical Memberships, a Senior Walking Club and joint marketing materials. These innovations will help to unify the images of the Racquet Club and Ingalls and encourage the community to utilize the services offered. "We want to get Racquet & Fitness Club members into the Wellness Center and cardiac Rehab patients into the pool and on the fitness floor," saysMcKinnon. Club manager McKinnon closes with a final word to the wise, "America's health is a number one issue. It is part of a park district's mission. If we don't begin to partner with hospitals, they will become our competitors. Park districts should not be afraid of being profitable. Health facilities can be profitable enterprises of a nonprofit organization. We can't be one-dimensional any more. The multidimensional concept is thekey to success in the current environment. We have to become the one-stop place for fitness." Lynn Juniel is the public information supervisor for the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District.
Illinois Parks & Recreation * March/April 1996 * 43
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