In Affiliation, Medical/Injuries
April 21, 2014
Five years ago, Ken Smithmier found CrossFit. Then it found his hospital. Andréa Maria Cecil reports.
After 59-nine-year-old hospital CEO Ken Smithmier got hooked on CrossFit training, he traveled to Indianapolis, Ind., for a CrossFit Level 1 Certificate Course in April 2009.
When he got back, he called a lunch meeting with the trainers involved in Decatur Memorial Hospital’s community wellness program. He told them about CrossFit.
Soon after, CrossFit Enhance was born. The box started small, and membership was only available to hospital employees. Today, the affiliate is 5,500 square feet and open to the surrounding community. Membership for hospital employees is still free with a one-time initial fee of US$100. Non-employees pay $50 per month. As of Feb. 1, CrossFit Enhance had 483 members.
“I guarantee you … that every employee that I have in the CrossFit gym is healthier, their productivity is up, and absenteeism is down,” Smithmier said.
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1 Comment on “The Hospital Affiliate”
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I find this article highly illuminating given the context of the previous article regarding the lack of exercise and nutritional education in the US medical curriculum.
If their “...most successful employee health initiative (ever)...” is one which requires zero additional money and no additional travel but can only interest 6.5% of the hospital employees, well, another quote comes to mind; "Who you are speaks so loudly, I can't hear what you're saying!".
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