Sacred Heart University launched its Life and Sport Analysis Clinic earlier this month to help patients become more fit and to help prevent future health problems.
A smaller version of the clinic has been around since 2009, but with a complete staff the center will now be fully operational. Clinic technicians will be able to advise patients on how to lose weight, build strength and eat healthier.
Brendan Rickert, a clinical exercise scientist who runs the clinic, said he hopes the clinic will help fill a gap in the current health care system.
In light of the clinic”™s opening, the Business Journal asked Rickert to explain the clinic”™s model further.
Business Journal: How does Life and Sport Analysis Clinic help patients?
Rickert: “We provide contemporary research-based information and exercises that fit the goals and needs of our clients. Typically our clientele are people who are done or almost done with their physical therapy visits, but aren”™t quite strong enough to be 100 percent confident in returning to their daily activities. We help bridge that gap by continuing with the same principles of exercise from physical therapy and expand upon them, to the point where the client is ready to be cut loose.”
Who can seek care at the clinic?
“The great part about the services we offer is that we can provide the highest level of care for all types of clients, spanning from someone who is a high-level athlete, to someone who needs to bridge the gap from the end of physical therapy to return to everyday life. This really is for anyone who wants to exercise in a safe and effective manner.”
Why aren”™t clinics like this more common in the health care system?
“The missing link is the ability for these services to be covered by insurance. Unfortunately the health care system is set up so that it pays out to treat rather than prevent. Without a proper support system, a clinic like this would be hard pressed to stay afloat financially.”
Do you think more preventative care like this will be covered by insurance in the future?
“Yes, but it takes time to sway opinion. It”™s hard in this economic climate to say if you pay a little more now you will save a lot in the future. But that”™s the whole idea of an investment. The average direct medical costs of obesity in the United States are $200 billion per year, which makes up over 21 percent of all health care costs. Approximately one-third of all Americans are obese. Imagine if you could take the $200 billion per year and pump it into prevention rather than treatment. We would also see a much higher quality of life if we could do that.”
How will this clinic survive financially?
“We have many ways to bring people through our doors. We get clients from our on campus physical therapy clinic as well as people from the community. We also have developed partnerships with local business that offer discounts to their members. Even though these services are out of pocket, we feel as more people become better educated that they will understand that this is an investment for their future and will be willing to pay for a high level of preventative care.”
Do you think clinics like these will become more popular?
“Yes, which is why we are trying to stay ahead of the curve by always adapting to the current demands for services, as well as having a wide range of staff that can specialize in all aspects of health. The one part about our clinic that separates us from everyone else is that our staff is made up of Sacred Heart University faculty and students that are constantly on the cutting edge of contemporary research.”
