SMH HealthFit Earns Re-Certification as Region’s only Medical Fitness Facility

As millions of people embark on their 2020 New Year’s Resolutions, Sarasota Memorial’s HealthFit renewed one of its own.

The HealthFit – Powered by Sarasota Memorial announced today that it achieved re-certification as a Medical Fitness Facility by the Medical Fitness Association. HealthFit remains the certified facility in Sarasota, and one of just two in the state. The SMH facility was the first in the state to achieve the certification in late 2016. It was effective for three years. To retain the designation, facilities must pass a rigorous recertification process, including an on-site inspection of its medically supervised exercise programs and review of its outcomes.

“The re-certification represents an ongoing commitment to provide the safest and most effective environment to help individuals achieve their personal health and fitness goals,” said Kayla Murphy, manager of Sarasota Memorial’s HealthFit center on Clark Road. “This achievement can only be achieved because of the strong commitment from our staff, quality feedback from our members, and exceptional support from leadership. We are proud to have been able to demonstrate to the surveyors the strong sense of community that we have cultivated for our members, and the high quality programming we have developed to meet our community’s needs.”

Only 40 facilities nationwide have earned certification from the MFA.  A number of key factors distinguish certified medical fitness centers, including:

• Active, regular medical oversight and certified and licensed staff 

• Disease management and prevention programs

• Health-risk reduction and therapeutic-lifestyle programs

• Individualized health screening 

• Testing and outcome tracking

• Quality management, with a focus on measurable results

• A focus on improving community health

• Written policies and procedures concerning user safety and the ability to respond appropriately to all emergencies

“As the incidence of chronic disease continues to rise, the need for more medically supervised outcomes and accountability-based Exercise is Medicine programs has never been more relevant in our industry than today,” said Robert Boone, FACHE, FMFA, President and CEO of the Medical Fitness Association. “It is clear that moving towards a population health prevention model of care with all its necessary components and guidelines is a herculean task. HealthFit – Powered by Sarasota Memorial has taken an important step towards filling a gap in the current care delivery model.”