WORK OUT: Exercise Physiologist Gini McFarland, right, coaches a patient through her work out. McFarland works with phase two and three cardiac rehab patients by giving what she calls “exercise prescriptions??? for post-hospitalization care.
MIRANDA ENZOR for GTR Newspapers
Whether looking to tone up or slim down, start a new and healthier lifestyle after surgery or simply revitalize our mind body and spirit, HELP is never far away. The Hillcrest Exercise and Lifestyles Program facility, located on the main Hillcrest campus at 1265 S. Utica Ave. Ste. 200, is a fitness and wellness center for individuals wanting a health-oriented facility for regular exercise.
While HELP focuses on encouraging a healthier lifestyle for certain groups of patients, the program is open to the public and only costs $50 to join with physician approval. Fitness classes offered include Yoga, Tai Chi and Getting Stronger (circuit weight class for seniors). HELP also offers lifestyle classes, such as the current “Smoking Cessation” class, to help individuals obtain a healthier lifestyle.
Gini McFarland, an exercise physiologist at HELP, says her job working with others is rewarding on a daily basis. She focuses on several specialized programs.
“We have outpatient cardiac rehab, which is one of our main wellness programs,” she says. “It’s ‘phase two’ cardiac rehab for patients who have left the hospital after heart surgery. They come here to rehabilitate and to increase their functional capability to safely do normal tasks on their own. During rehab, we may find something they need to be readmitted for, which they might not have caught if they were just at home, which acts as a safety check for patients. We help people develop healthier lifestyle habits through exercise, nutrition and behavioral counseling.”
McFarland’s main role is to set up what she calls ‘exercise prescriptions’ for individuals who graduate to ‘phase three’ of the rehab program.
“I set patients up with an exercise plan that will meet their needs for the rest of their life. Everyone has different limitations, so with the cardiac rehab patients, I have to design their program based on their needs.”
In addition to designing programs, being a part of the vast array of educational classes is another responsibility of McFarland’s. This includes meeting with special needs patients who have an existing condition like diabetes. McFarland works with patients at the Hillcrest Center for Diabetes Management to determine when are the best times to exercise and what exercises are most effective.
“I talk about exercising and try to motivate diabetes patients, help them understand their limits,” she says.
McFarland has also helped develop a program for patients with peripheral vascular disease. PVD is a condition that makes it difficult or painful for a person to walk normally.
“It’s a tough program because in order for these people to walk and prolong their mobility, they have to work through the pain. Normally, when you exercise and feel pain, you’re supposed to stop.”
But watching these special-needs patients achieving milestone accomplishments is one of her favorite parts of the job.
“I see patients getting well, losing weight and not having to be re-hospitalized and seeing patients grow as a person. Some people in the cardiac program could hardly walk before coming here. It’s a slow progression, but when they’re done with the program, they can walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes and spend 15 minutes on a bicycle – they’re doing 60 minutes of cardio when they leave here. That’s a big thing.”
McFarland’s other favorite part of the job is helping to coordinate training schedules for the Tulsa Run every year. She hasn’t been as involved with the 2007 Run because she just had a baby, but she is sure to be back out on the river, training for the 2008 Run.
“I’ve designed a week-by-week training program for anyone who wants to do the run,” McFarland says. “They can get on our Web site, www.hillcrest.com/help, and look at the training schedule or articles I’ve done. It guides you through training, including exercise and nutrition, so you can do the whole nine miles without stopping, come Saturday, Oct. 27.”
While it might be a little late to jump into a full training schedule for this year’s race, Tulsans can still help cheer on participants, including local celebrity runners Chera Kimiko and Clay Loney from Fox 23. McFarland works with the nominated celebrity runners one-on-one to design a training schedule.
“In the past, I’ve also led public training runs, which is so much fun. There’s a training run on Sunday mornings, which start in June. Out of all the sessions, representatives from Hillcrest provide breakfast and cheer everybody on at one.”
The 2007 Tulsa Run takes place Saturday, Oct. 27, beginning at 4th and Boulder and ending at 18th and Baltimore. For more information, visit www.tulsarun.com.
For more information about the HELP facility, classes or programs, call (918) 570-4900 or visit www.hillcrest.com/help.
