Transforming Health, Transforming Lives Five years ago, Richard Mose was 63 years old, weighed more than 300 pounds and was struggling with high blood pressure and diabetes. Several members of his family passed away before reaching their 60s, and he had already lost a few friends with similar health issues. I used to be tired all the time and never felt like doing anything, he said. When Richard retired from the Saranac Lake School District, he decided it was time to be proactive about his health, so he joined the Adirondack Health Fit for Life program. No one in my family made it beyond age 55, he said, and that scared me. A Healthy Future Now down 70 pounds, Richard has his blood pressure in check, his blood sugar is just barely above the normal range and he is getting closer to winning his fight with diabetes. He looks forward to a healthy future. How was he able to achieve such transformational results? The answer is medically supervised fitness, which has changed not only his health, but his entire outlook on life. No one in my family made it beyond age 55, he said, and that scared me. Richard works hard to improve his health. He attends Fit for Life twice a week to work on cardio and strength training, and he and his wife walk 2.5 miles every weekday. When they first got me on the treadmill, I thought I was going to fall off the thing, he said. I told myself I couldn t do it. But they kept on me and I ve worked my way up. Richard says the medical fitness program is leagues away from a traditional gym. In the Fit for Life program, his blood pressure is checked at each visit, and he doesn t get days off he s always held accountable. If you miss a day, they ll start calling you asking where you are! he said. After five years and stunning results to show for his work, Richard only regrets not starting earlier. I told my wife, we should have started this 20 years ago! he said. I recommend medical fitness to everyone I know.
artist rendering BUILDING the Future of Care in Lake Placid Richard s story is like many we see in healthcare today. Medical fi tness changes lives. Health providers help patients achieve transformational results with the right facilities, programs and education. Adirondack Health needs a brand new building to accommodate growth in all our Lake Placid services while giving top priority to the comfort, convenience and privacy of patients. The new building will include Lake Placid Health Center Home to our primary care providers, as well as nutrition and mental health counseling, featuring a private waiting area and a spacious design. Emergency department Fully-equipped emergency department. Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Offering physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and language pathology, and cardiac rehabilitation phase I & II as well as fi tness and performance testing. Laboratory and Diagnostic Imaging (X-ray) In a convenient, central location. Adirondack Health: The Future of Care Campaign
Medical Fitness Center Acting as the cornerstone of the new building, a larger space accommodates more patients cared for by medical professionals to achieve measurable health improvements through fitness. Lake Placid Sports Medicine Providing Olympic-caliber orthopedic and sports medicine for surgical and non-surgical treatments. A critical addition to the health of our community is a pool designed for warm water aquatic therapy, which provides the opportunity for one-on-one aquatic rehabilitation. A three-lane lap pool offers those recovering from injury, swimming for fitness or elite athletes in training the ability to do so year-round. The lap pool will also offer specialty programs including community water aerobics, metabolic testing, adaptive swim programs for amputees and swim lessons. What does this mean for the community? A true hub of healthcare services designed to work with you to not only treat symptoms, but put you on the path towards a healthy life. We treat people in their 80s who are still cross-country skiing every day we want to see more of that. Rick Preston, Adirondack Health, Director of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine Exercise is Medicine A CALL TO ACTION If you have conditions such as pre-diabetes, hypertension or high blood pressure or have a predisposition to cancer, fitness should play a critical role in your life to work towards good health. Your primary care physician can prescribe exercise under the supervision of trained medical professionals. Your results and progress will be charted and monitored, and you will leave feeling empowered and in charge of your well-being. Adirondack Health: The Future of Care Campaign
If we had a pill that conferred all the benefits of exercise, we would recommend it to every patient. It is time we all started encouraging our patients to take this free medication! Robert Sallis, MD Past President, American College of Sports Medicine
The Adirondack Health Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center artist rendering First Floor Plan Second Floor Plan
The NEED is Critical The Adirondack Health Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center is crucial to transforming the way we provide healthcare, positioning our health system for future growth, and making a powerful impact on the vitality of our community. Converging fi tness, physical and behavioral health The Adirondack Health Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center will allow us to respond to acute healthcare emergencies and focus on prevention and fi tness. These types of services are the cornerstone of our vision for future healthcare. Improving our community s health Offering convenient, forward-thinking healthcare with matching facilities will help push our entire region s health forward. It positions Adirondack Health as a regional leader in the growing movement of Exercise as Medicine that will one day touch the lives of everyone you know and love. By coming together to build the Adirondack Health Lake Placid Health and Medical Fitness Center, we can transform the health of our community now and for generations to come. Adirondack Health: The Future of Care Campaign
With your help, the future of care begins today.